Apathy
by StandingOnTheRooftops
Summary: My first 5x2. Quatre & Heero are kidnapped & Une sends Wufei to L2 to act as body guard to single-father Duo. Romance and adventure ensue. Cannon-timeline. Romance, family, adventure, action, sap, n pretty much everything. Rated for language. Complete!
1. Conspiracy Theory

Apathy

Part Of The 'Rhythm Emotion Cycle'

~~~{*}~~~

"I never knew, I never knew that everything was falling through- that everyone I knew was waiting on a que to turn and run when all I needed was the truth; but that's how it's gotta be. It's coming down to nothing more than _apathy_. I'd rather run the other way than stay and see the smoke, and who's still standing when it clears."

~Over My Head, The Fray

~~~{*}~~~

Apathy

Chapter One

Mission: Conspiracy Theory

Chang Wufei looked at the three story building in front of him. It was modest, but clean. Serviceable, nothing grand, but still lightyears more upscale than the surrounding buildings. The shape was reminiscent of the old southern churches of America. Simple, but intricate. The roof rose in a tall gable, with a single tower at the fore-front, adding another story's height to the building. The new building seemed out of place when set against the surrounding ones; it's warmth against the grimy coldness of the dilapidated, decaying city.

It was like a beacon of hope amidst a storm-torn sea. If nothing else, the Chinese Preventer thought, Duo Maxwell had taste.

The building was empty, as it would still be quite a while before the interior was finished and the Maxwell Orphanage officially opened. Yet apparently, despite having the funds to afford other, higher end accommodations, Duo Maxwell already resided here in a set of personal living quarters on the third floor. Reasoning had him guessing that most of Duo's rather vast funds went towards the orphanage, but there was still the financial aid given by WEI to consider. All in all, Duo could have been able to live in a nice house, or apartment, somewhere in the more upclass part of Miranda- one of the largest cities of L2.

Thinking back over it a moment, the former Shenlong pilot had to mentally laugh at it all. Duo's talents had taken him from being the poorest of the Gundam pilots, with the possible exception of Trowa (who was downright reclusive) to being the second richest, right after Quatre with his family fortunes.

Wufei remembered the day he'd asked the Shinigami to join the Preventers. Duo, working with Hilde at her salvage yard, had laughed, saying that he was retired. When Wufei had duly pointed out that Preventers paid much more than salvage work, and that monetary funds were required to live out ones life in any decent fashion, Duo'd laughed even harder and said not to worry. Actually, if Wufei's memory served him correctly, the conversation went along the lines of: "Money? 'Fei, I've got more money than you and Mr. Bullets-for-Brains put together."

"I realize that myself and Yuy are not 'well-to-do' by any standards, but that is clearly an overstatement, Maxwell. Exactly how much do your liquid assets total?" Wufei couldn't picture the braided boy being richer than him. Wufei had a sizeable inheritance, being the last of his family. And Heero had squandered enough money from Oz to get by for several years without working. Surely Maxwell was overstating things a bit.

"A total? Hmm... roughly enough to buy a whole colony, probably." He then rattled off a number far higher than Wufei expected. Face pale, he questioned the acquisition of such funds.

This received him a chesire grin. "Bullets-for-Brains Mr. Perfect Soldier Yuy isn't the only skilled hacker you know, 'Fei. Heero stole just enough to get by. Me... I was out for payback. Literally. So I _liberated _quite a bit from Oz. After diverting a healthy amount to various charities, you can see I still have more than enough to keep me in moderate luxury for the rest of my life. Especially since I had Quatre advise me on a few wise investments."

"If you've got that much money, Maxwell, then why are you sweating away in a salvage yard?"

"Easy. I'm sixteen, 'Fei. I'd go crazy within a month if I had nothing at all to do. I'm used to working for everything I get. I did my share of the fighting, but I can't just laze around and do nothing. I've gotta have something to keep me occupied. It just so happens that at the moment, I rather like helping Hilde."

And that moment hadn't lasted very long at all, Wufei thought. It wasn't long after then that he'd heard that Duo was puttering boredly around L2 after having left Hilde. Numerous other offers to join the Preventer's had been turned down. Duo refused to fight, refused to participate in anything that had to do with fighting.

Sometime during that span of time, the tentative camaraderie they'd formed during the wars, during their shared tribulations, drifted apart. Wufei criticized every move Duo made, and Duo didn't seem to care.

And yet... still here he was. Five years since the Marimaia Incident. He'd just turned twenty-one, just turned an adult in most legal ways, yet he knew more than most people could dream of. Life had changed, and in some ways, so had he. But in some ways... he had not.

And yet... still, here he was. There were countless other agents who could have done this, but Une had specifically designated it to him. Really, he thought, One coincidintial accident does not warant the paranoid woman to shout 'Conspiracy Theory!'

It was exactly forty six hours ago that he'd found out about the disappearance of Quatre Winner. It hadn't been surprising. With his soft looks, money, and political power, someone, someday was going to make a move against him, try their luck at kidnapping him. And just because Heero Yuy happened to be on the same hijacked shuttle, Une was screaming that it was more than likely a plot against all former Gundam pilots. She'd asked Maxwell and Barton if they would mind having 'Preventers back-up' just in case. A polite way of asking to stick them with babysitters slash bodyguards. Barton's answer had been a polite 'No Thank You.' It seemed he thought himself safe within the cloth walls of his circus tent. Wufei wished he'd have said 'yes' so that he would at least be able to get along with the person he was guarding. He and Barton, while not close friends, had a lot more in common than he and Maxwell. Wufei had fully expected Maxwell to do the same as Barton and refuse. Some boast about being the 'Shinigami' and being able to take care of himself.

The soft acceptance had startled him. Quatre had imformed him a few months ago that Duo was not the same person he once was, but until that moment a few days ago, Wufei hadn't questioned how much his former comrade had changed.

Maybe fatherhood really had matured the Deathscythe Hell pilot.

~~~{*}~~~

Author's Notes: Maybe you noticed, but this is 2x5. The first ever attempt by me at this particular pairing. This chapter was kind of short, but they'll get progressively longer as we move along. And please, leave me reviews. Feedback, please. Good or bad? Please let me know.

Oh, and How To Save A Life is not forgotten. Quatre's just being a little moody. The next chapter should be out soon.


	2. Daddy

~~~{*}~~~

Apathy

Chapter Two

Daddy

***Flashback***

"What?"

Wufei's was not the most articulate of replies, but Quatre's words had simply left him dumbfounded. Surely the blond was jesting. Surely this was all some crazy joke.

But no. There was no hint of humor in those bluish-green eyes. If anything, there was determination and stubbornness.

Une was quiet, contemplative. But Sally was the one to speak up.

"I think this is excellent," she stated, beaming brightly. Almost giddy with excitement. "I will certainly help in any way I can. And of course I'll assist with whatever legal issues they're raising or medical issues you have. Oh... this is wonderful!"

"Po," Une's voice was slightly hard. "A former soldier is much too volatile to care for a child. Especially Zero Two. He has a history of rash decisions and an unstable temper, as well as numerous other psychological incompetancies that any professional could spot a mile away. This arrangement will end in grief."

"She is right, Quatre." Wufei added. "Surely you can't think that Maxwell is capable of raising a child. It would be best to place the girl in the legal system and allow them to find her a suitable home. Maxwell is not father material."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, 'Fei," came Duo's cold voice. The monitor flicked to dual-screen, showing Duo's face beside Quatre's- L2 side by side with L4. There was a light in those indigo-violet eyes. There was, however, a shimmer of... betrayal. As if he had really expected to receive support in this.

"Unacceptable," Quatre said. "L2's system is still corrupt. It will be years before it's close to fair again. If we put her back in the system, she'll slip through the cracks and end up just as she is now- or worse."

"I grew up on L2," Duo reminded them. "I know first hand how corrupt it is."

"Place her in a different system," Wufei shrugged. "L1, or Earth. Somewhere."

"L1 has it's own orphans to deal with," Duo said softly. "And since no one really cares about L2 anymore, they're not going to let a single orphan transfer to their systems. Unlike what it may seem, I've thought this out. This is not a brash decision made up on the spur of the moment. I know the consequences of my actions, and I'm willing to accept them... for her sake." He glanced off the screen for a moment, his eyes soft, but when he looked back, they were sad. His voice was low and even, as if afraid of waking someone.

Sally nodded. "I agree whole-heartedly Duo. And plus, fatherhood is excellent therapy. What better way to bring structure and routine into your life than careing for someone else?"

"Get him a goldfish," Wufei snapped. Sally turned cold eyes on him.

"You are an ignorant ass, Chang." She turned back the screen and smiled. "I'll be happy to help with anything you need, Duo."

"As will I," Quatre added.

"I will not condone this," Une said sharply. "But it is out of my hands, so I will put it out of my mind. One day, thought, you might regret this decision, Maxwell."

"You can't be serious?" Wufei demanded. "The three of you are going to let him do this? Une, that child will end up dead! Duo is still just a child himself, he can't raise one. There are a million things wrong with this; you can't let this happen."

Through the vid-screen, Duo's cobalt eyes met with Wufei's onyx ones. Wufei could read the hurt there, openly displayed.

"You know, Wufei," Duo said softly, "I really wanted your support on this. But I guess you don't have as much respect for me as I did for you."

***End Flashback***

That was the last time that Wufei had spoken with Duo Maxwell. Wufei's last words had been degrading, but still, the last thing Duo had said was that he'd respected Wufei. It had confused the hell out of him, to be sure, but he'd never tried to apologize. He'd never tried to reconcile.

He remained up-to-date on Duo via Quatre and Sally. And despite Une's- and his own- predictions, Duo and the young Trinity Maxwell were still doing just fine. Quatre had reported a new maturity in the braided young man, but Wufei had not beleived it. Even after Quatre told him about Duo's new pet project, the oprhanage, Wufei had still doubted. He'd really come full circle in his opinion of the braided man. At first, he'd thought of him as impetuous and rash and annoying. Then, after he'd been forced to coexist in that damnable prison cell with him, he'd discovered another side to the L2 orphan. And that side brought about a new respect for the boy. And now, he was back to questioning Duo's sanity.

Wufei tried to shut off his mind as he entered the building using the code to the security system he'd been provided with. The door beeped and opened, and closed behind him. The inside was empty, barren and dark, but there was a soft sound echoing around. It took Wufei a moment to realize it was singing. Duo singing, to be more specific.

Not knowing what else to do, Wufei did the obvious thing and followed the rather beautiful sound. He left the large room, meandered through other ones, climbed up stairs, hunting the location of the owner of that voice. And then stopped. This room was lit, brightly. It looked like a lounge. And considering he had ended up on the third floor, he was inclined to believe this was Duo's own personal quarters. He took one step in, then another. Then he saw them.

Duo was sitting on the couch end, singing, and a little girl of about six years sat in front of him on a small little ottoman. Duo was running a brush through the girls blondish-brown curls, focused intently on his task. Wufei stared at the scene, transfixed at the sight, until he suddenly met amber eyes. They seemed like sparkling topaz under the light. And they were not the eyes of a five year old girl. They were the eyes of someone much older, who'd seen tragedy and pain far to often. They reminded him of the eyes of each and every one of the Gundam pilots. They reminded him of Duo's eyes.

This was Trinity Maxwell. He'd seen a picture of her once with Duo, one kept on Sally's desk. They'd both seemed happy and loved in that picture, full of energy. Now, there was that same love, but in a more peaceful, almost intimate setting.

"Daddy?" The girl asked aloud, her eyes still locked with Wufei's. Her voice was light and sweet and innocent, but still with an air of maturity unknown for most her age.

"Yeah, sweetie?" was Duo's reply, still intent on his task.

"What does that man look like? The one who's going to protect us?"

Duo snorted a little. "Protect you, darlin'. As am I. I can protect myself just fine. It's you I'll always be worried about."

The girl smiled, cut her eyes back to her father before looking back at Wufei. As if she thought it was sweet and annoying at the same time. Wufei had the feeling that Duo might be a bit overprotective.

"But what does he look like?"

"Hmm... Last I remember, he was about my height, I guess. Maybe just a tad bit shorter. Hard black eyes, like obsidian stones. Slanted just a little. Hair as dark as a raven's wing, long and silky but always pulled back too harshly. Skin the color of that shimmer dust Miss Meggie is always wearing. And why the sudden interest, eh, Trin?"

The girl lifted a finger and pointed straight at Wufei. "Because he's been standing in the doorway for the past five minutes," she said simply. Duo's head jerked up, the brush almost clattering to the floor. He caught it at the last second, but his gaze remained held by Wufei's.

"Maxwell," Wufei nodded curtly.

"Wufei," Duo breathed. He was a bit shocked that Wufei had snuck up on him. A bit angry that he'd intruded on a private moment- eavesdropping. And a bit embarrassed that Wufei had heard his description of him. But instead of showing any of this, though, he tapped his daughter's shoulder gently.

"Why, pray-tell, did you not speak up sooner, missie?"

"Because he couldn't have gotten past the security system without the codes," she said simply. "And because the emotions in him are strong, but not clear." Her eyes met with Wufei's once again.

"You really ought to calm your soul. Your mind is clear, but your heart is not."

Her voice, that light sweet innocent voice, echoed with the wisdom of a ancient sage. The voice of a child sounded like that of a woman grown.

Wufei's dark eyes narrowed at her.

"Pardon?" he questioned. He glanced at Duo. "She talks like my grandmother, but she's a child. What is she?" It was unnerving to say the least. There was something... off... about this girl.

"Um... Quat didn't tell you?" Duo asked. At Wufei's annoyed 'no', he sighed. "Chang Wufei, meet my daughter Trinity. Trinity, meet Chang Wufei. You know about Quatre's 'Space Heart' thing, right, 'Fei?" How easy it was to slip into old nuances, old routines. How easy it would be to simply forget that this man didn't respect him... or his choices. How easy... but utterly impossible.

A nod. "His unusual empathic skills. It's a new-type ability, but his is stronger than most new-types. What does he have to do with her?" He nodded to Trinity.

"Trinity is an empath, too."

Wufei was silent as he assimilated this data. Duo's daughter had a new-type ability. Empathy to be exact. It explained so much.

"This was why Winner was so willing and eager to help you, right? He's known since the beginning?"

The girl sadened. "Uncle Quatre helps me. I didn't understand before. But he still wouldn't listen to me."

"Huh?" Very articulate, Chang Wufei thought to himself. A child's ability to jump from subject to subject is astounding. Duo was used to this; Wufei was not.

"Trinity told Quatre not to go on his vacation," Duo said softly. "She begged him not to. Quat's a stubborn SOB when he wants to be, so he ignored her. Trinity even tried to convince Heero not to go, but Heero wasn't letting Quat out of his sight- something about catching up, I think- so they both left. Somehow, I think she knew what would happen."

"It just felt bad," she said, spitting the word out. "I didn't like it. But Mister Heero will take care of Uncle Quatre. And plus... I did get him back," she added sheepishly.

"Trintiy?" Duo questioned. This... he hadn't heard before. "What did you do?"

"I... I put dye from the clothes washroom into his shampoo," she said quietly.

"You what?" Wufei demanded. Duo's eyebrow quirked.

"What color?" He asked, as if used to this. And truth be told, he was. Trinity had the word TROUBLE spelt all over her.

"Blue. Yellow, maybe. Brown, I think. One of them. All of them, I don't remember."

"Anything else?"

"I _might_ have spilt the brown inside his suitcase."

"Those were very expensive clothes in that suitcase," Duo pointed out. Trinity shrugged.

"He wouldn't listen to me," she stated like an impudent child. "Next time, he will."

"You're probably right," Duo muttered. Trinity heard that and smiled. She was _always _right.

"She just admitted to ruining a suitcase full of very expensive clothes, and you tell her she's right?" Wufei asked incredulously. He had been right to assume that Duo was not mature enough to raise a child.

Duo rolled his eyes. "Should I punish her, 'Fei? She's not a normal child- trust me. Normal discipline doesn't work with her; she lived without it since she was a baby- she doesn't even understand the concept. And Quatre's gone through this before- he knows what happens when he ticks her off. So it's technically his fault for instigating it. And plus, it could be a good thing. If he's got different color hair, and maybe wearing different clothes, he might escape notice," he added. "That's one hell of a disguise she just provided him with. Who knows, it could be a factor in finding him..." alive. The last word wasn't spoken, but Trinity knew it was there and her eyes sparkled with tears. She knew that Quatre was still alive. She knew that her empathic bond with her adopted uncle was strong enough that she'd know if something really really bad happened to him. And so far... she hadn't felt anything. But that didn't stop her from wondering if or when she'd feel it.

Duo's arms wrapped around her before she could even make the first little sniffle.

"No, no, darlin'. Don't cry. He'll be just fine, you'll see. Everything will turn out just fine. You know that. You feel that. Just believe. Everything will be just fine."

Wufei opened his mouth, about to point out that Duo could not claim such a thing- and that Duo supposedly never lied, but a sharp glare from those indigo eyes had him snapping his mouth back shut.

Maybe some lies were needed, Wufei thought, looking at the heartbroken little girl. Maybe some things were best left un-spoken and un-thought.

tbc...

~~~{*}~~~

AN: So... how are you liking it? Let me know? And what about Trinity? Is it all good or bad? Please... I need FEEDBACK!!! ANd Thanks to TheOneWhoIsAddictedToHPFics for my first review on this. Huggles!


	3. Unexpected

_**Chapter Three**_

_** Unexpected**_

Life for Duo Maxwell had certainly taken a turn in the past five years, the years after the war. He'd had no idea what to do. Quatre had his business, Trowa had his circus. Wufei had the Preventers... and Heero disappeared for a while, as usual. Before a week ago, the last he'd heard of Heero was that he was a volatile Preventer. For a moment or two, Duo'd been at a lose as to what to do. Then, he'd went back to Hilde's salvage yard. But... the dark eyed girl had wanted more- much more- from Duo than he was willing to give. So then... back to nothing to do. He'd fiddled around with one thing or another for some time- including a few alcohol binges, before fate threw a bomb at him.

A bomb in the shape of little girl.

Trinity Maxwell... for that was what he named her, since she had no name she could remember except for 'Baby'... saved him. She saved him from a downward spiral of boredom and the catastrophe that waited at the bottom of that spiral. She gave his life meaning again, she gave him something- someone- to fight for.

When his former comrades had found out that Duo Maxwell had wanted to formally adopt a four year old orphan, the reactions had been mixed.

Sally Po had been all for it, saying it was a noble cause and that it was perfect 'therapy'.

Lady Une had been against it, saying that a former terrorist was too volatile to care for a child and that this arrangement would end in grief. She'd eventually admitted that it was not her decision, though she'd never revoked her claims.

Heero couldn't be found for comment (Duo had doubted he had actually ever heard of Trinity; this theory had been proven when Heero met Trinity for the first time about a week ago), and Wufei had been the worst, with his demeaning words and lack of faith and respect; of everyone, Duo's wanted his respect for this decision the most for some unexplained reason. And of everyone, Quatre Winner had been Duo's best support, citing that it was Duo's choice, and that whatever Duo set his mind to... could be accomplished. Quatre had even went as far as offering his assistance for whatever Duo needed to care for young Trinity, though Duo was more than financially set to care for a child. Mostly, Quatre was emotional support for both of them.

All that had been a little under two years ago. In that span of time, Trinity had become like a part of him. He didn't know how he'd be able to survive if something happened to her. She was his life- his everything. And she felt pretty much the same way about him, as far as he could tell.

She'd needed a lifeline just like he did. They were both alone. He'd needed a reason to live. She'd needed someone to live just for her. They'd both needed the love that the other could provide. And despite all that had been said, they were a good team.

And all in all, he thought he'd done pretty good by her. She was a good kid. She was respectful, (mostly) obedient, kind-natured, sweet, mischievous, intelligent, physically healthy- everything anyone could ask for in a daughter. She never lacked anything she wanted or needed, though she was easy to please. She learned with an ease and grace that at once astounded and amazed him. All in all, she was a good kid and Duo'd never had much trouble with her. The key word in that statement was *much*, since she was a bit of a troublemaker- but only in small pranks and such; she would never hurt anyone physically or mentally. Because of her basic nature, and because of her ability. Her empathy made her a bit more sympathetic to his moods and she knew immediately if she'd done wrong.

However, her empathy also proved to be troublesome. At first, she'd been constantly in pain. When he realized what the problem was, he'd immediately enlisted Quatre's help and within days she'd shown dramatic improvement (that was about the time he realized he wanted to keep her- for good). After about the first year, Duo'd mastered the art of hiding his emotions, or projecting false ones. Sometimes it just didn't do to have a five year old knowing how you felt.

But, smart girl that she was, Trinity could mostly tell when he did that. She didn't like it. And her odd ability often set her apart from other children. Plus, children were naturally loud and boisterous. Trinity did not like that atmosphere at all. Her control was still not perfect- she was only six, after all- and Duo tried to shelter her from any and all possible pain. He steered her away from schools- opting for home-schooling (which she excelled at), steered her away from large crowds- pretty easy to do on L2 where everyone was still pretty paranoid, steered her away from politicians- she really did not need _those _emotions, and he steered her away from hospitals- who needed them, when you had Sally Po, who was just as good?

She had a way of speaking that simply set her apart from everyone. A world-weary tone that seemed like it belonged to a ninety year old woman, not a six year old girl. And despite that, she was optimistically bright and able to charm just about anything with half a brain. Even Heero Yuy. As Duo tucked her into bed and kissed her forehead 'goodnight', he thought back over the last conversation he'd had with Heero, less than a week ago. It had been the first and only time in over three years he'd talked to his former partner and teammate.

_***Flashback***_

"Pardon?" Was Duo's eloquent response.

A hint of a smile a smile Duo thought a smile on Heero Yuy's face... the world's coming to an end! ghosted over Heero's lips. Prussian blue eyes tracked the movement of the tiny girl and the blond man below them in the garden.

"She's sweet," was the repeat of the two words. "And she's highly intelligent for a six year old. You've done well, Duo."

Duo blinked, still not sure he'd heard right. Heero 'Mr. Bullets-For-Brains-Perfect-Soldier' Yuy was complimenting him... on his fathering ability, no less?

Obviously, Heero realized how the situation seemed.

"I mean it, Duo," he said. "Few people could raise a normal child as well as you've raised her."

"Alright," Duo said jokingly, "Who are you and what have you done with Yuy?" It also hadn't escaped his attention that Heero was calling him 'Duo' which was rare as well- Heero had never called him anything but 'Maxwell'. And from the little he'd heard, Heero was supposed to be as stoic and uptight as ever. Surely... surely Trinity hadn't caused this abrupt about-face?

"I'm still me," was the response. "But that child of yours has given me some things to think about."

"What did she tell you?" Duo asked, immediately knowing how odd it could be when Trinity talked and you weren't used to it.

"I told her I was lost, and she told me that I wasn't. She told me I had a place to belong and I just didn't know it yet. I don't understand it, but Une told me I needed to do some 'soul-searching'," he frowned at the word. "Trinity's observations seem like a adequate place to start."

Duo nodded.

"It is a unique talent she has, and a unique personality. You should be proud, Duo. I may not have told you this before, but I always have respected you. As a soldier and as a person. You're so many things I'm not. Maybe... maybe this whole vacation will help me find out how to become some of those things. Maybe I can become more like you."

_***End Flashback***_

As Duo stood back up to leave the little room, he wondered if Heero would ever get that chance to change... or if maybe it was too late in more ways than one.

"He'll be fine," Trinity murmured.

"Hmm, sweetie?"

"Heero... and Uncle Quatre. They'll both be fine. You'll see."

Duo kissed her again. "Goodnight, my angel. Go to sleep."

"'Night, Daddy," she said.

Trinity rolled over, the dream claiming her mind as soon as she closed her eyes. It was vivid and so real and she woke up from it later in the night, gasping. Emotions battered at her shields and she couldn't keep the emotions out. She felt sick, like her stomach was churning. But there would be no Uncle Quatreto help her this time. And Daddy, though he tried, was never that much good with her 'gift'. It had been Quatre, since the beginning, that had helped her.

She curled up in a small ball in the middle of her bed, barely letting out a whimper. She focused as hard as she could on her breathing, and tried to single out her father's emotions from everyone elses. His always calmed her.

"One two three four five," she counted. "One. One two three four five. Two. One two three four five. Three." She kept counting like that until she reached fifty, and by then, she was able to fall back into a fitful, but dreamless sleep.

And that was good. She didn't want to have to see that dream of Mister Heero getting shot at close range by one of those guns, like Daddy kept locked in his office desk. Especially not when Heero had jumped in front of Quatre to take that shot. Something wasn't right. But Trinity didn't know what.

The only thing she knew was that Quatre was still alive. Somehow, somewhere.

Quatre was alive.

tbc...

~~~~{*}~~~~

AN: There, third chapter. These first few are kinda slow. But it won't be long before we start to get into all the action and adventure. I mean... if Quatre's alive then, well, someone has to go rescue him. *hint, hint*

And THANKS so much for all the reviews. I'm so glad you all loved Trinity. Hope this chapter satisfies you, and Huggles/Cuddles to everyone!


	4. Dreams We Dream

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Dreams We Dream**_

After three days of shadowing the L2 father and daughter, Wufei had to admit that the bond between Duo and Trinity was undeniably strong. Duo devoted the majority of his time to her, and the rest to the orphanage.

Wufei sat at the kitchen bar late that evening, pretending to read the classic book he'd found in Duo's surprisingly vast library of both hard-copy and soft copy literature. He'd found out that like he himself, Duo had a preference for having a hard, tangible copy of a book to read instead of just scrolling across a computer screen. It was just one of many small things Wufei had remembered that they had in common. He'd found out most of them during the war, but now, hew was remembering those that he'd forgotten. It was surprising how much he'd forgotten; just how much he and Duo had in common.

He pretended to be absorbed in the book, but in truth he kept his eyes on Duo. Duo moved with grace around the simple, functional kitchen. He pulled things from the refrigerator, pulled various dishes from cabinets, and stirring a boiling pot on the stove.

It had surprised Wufei immensley to find out that the former street rat was a rather adequate chef, having learned many things from Hilde- who now- according to Duo- was engaged to a pastry chef from L4.

There was something graceful and elegant about the way Duo moved. Something Wufei couldn't quite place. Some small little sway. Meilan had had that sway, but the way she'd moved was so much more... forceful than Duo. And she was usually angry or moping if she was cooking. Cooking simply wasn't something Long Meilan liked to do. But Duo was always graceful and moved so silently. It was a rather interesting little trait that Wufei had noticed.

"'Fei, can you check on Trinity? She's in the lounge, and I can't leave the stove."

Wufei merely nodded as he set down the book and slid from the stool. Duo only spoke to him in necessity; it seemed he still harbored cold feelings after the falling out years ago. And Wufei couldn't blame him one bit. In fact, Wufei spoke to Duo only out of necessity. The hostility ran both ways. And healing would have to come from both sides, as well. But the wound wasn't ready to heal. Not yet.

Trinity was, of course, in the lounge. Wherever Duo said she was, there she was. There was some connection between the two that was normally reserved for people who'd been together for decades- not simply two years. She was bent over the small coffee table, sketching. Wufei watched for a moment, and then started to leave, but the picture she was sketching caught his eye. The lines were blurry and faded and bold- like most children's drawings- but Wufei could easily pick out three figures. Two large, one small. The small one done with gold hair and brown eyes.

"You and your parents?" Wufei found himself asking. Because of her frightening ability and odd behaviors, he'd refrained from talking much to Trinity since that first night, but sometimes- like now- he realized that she was just a child. An orphan who'd obviously lost a lot before coming to Duo. He squatted down beside her to get a better look at the picture.

"I guess," She said, starting in on the next figure. Brown hair, purple eyes. "That's me.... and that's my daddy. I don't really remember much before him. I can't even remember Mama China's hair color anymore."

"Who's this?" Wufei reached down, tapping the un-colored third figure. Trinity lifted her shoulders in a small shrug.

"I don't know. Sometimes, I wish that there was someone else. I mean, I love my daddy, and it being just us... but everyone else has two parents. I dream about this sometimes. Me and Daddy, but there's someone else, too. And we're all happy, just really happy. I've had the same dream for a long, long time. I like it." She didn't tell him that 'a long, long time' meant since she was old enough to talk, back when 'home' was a few upturned garbage can's in a ally and the only family she knew was two orphaned street rats barely a decade older than her.

"That's nice," he said in that sweet tone all adults reserved for agreeing with children. Wufei watched as she used a pencil to sketch in long hair on the third figure. He rose. "Maybe that dream will come true one day, and you'll have a mother and a father both." He didn't really think anyone in their right mind would do it for Duo's sake... but he could see someone maybe trying to put up with Duo for the sake of Trinity. He left back the way he came; back to report to Duo and to do more covert observing.

After he left, Trinity picked up a color and filled in the third figure.

"But I don't dream of a Mother," she whispered to the empty room. She finished the picture, and shoved it into the stack of myriads of others, pictures she'd been saving for months now. Several of them similar to the one she just finished, all with the same three people and the same colors. A little girl with honey hair and amber eyes. A man with violet eyes and chestnut hair. And... a third figure with black hair and black eyes.

~{*}~

Duo held a sleeping Trinity in his arms as he carried her towards the lift (Wufei had been surprised to hear about the elevator located towards the back of the building). They were heading back from choosing designs and such for the dormitories of the orphanage. Duo would have liked to have been able to have individual rooms for every child, but he knew that when it opened, the orphanage would have many, many children. So he opted to make the most out of the space he had. The third floor was his own home and a attic/storage area. The second floor was devoted to the two dormitories- one for boys and one for girls, each lined with bunk beds against each wall and a small dresser to either side of each bunk- and a smaller room set aside for infants and toddlers. Each dormitory also had it's own set of showers and restrooms.

The first floor held a kitchen, the three classrooms, a small chapel, and the infirmary. There would also be an office, a recreation room, a small foyer-like reception room, and a rather large dining hall.

Wufei, following behind Duo, had been very surprised at the sheer size of the building, which was larger than it had seemed from the outside. And that size wasn't including the exceptional fenced in yard located behind the orphanage. It had even more square feet of area than the first floor. There was a half-size basketball court, a grassy area that could multi-purpose for football, soccer, baseball, or whatever else it was needed for. There was an extensive swing-set/jungle gym set that would be put in later, another field of grass, and even a small series of swimming pools. After touring the entire facility, Wufei understood why it hadn't been completed yet. The size was massive, comparable to some of the upper-class schools they'd had to infiltrate back during the first war. He had absolutely no idea how Duo was planning to run such an enormous operation.

They were just getting into the lift when a chime sounded from the pocket communicator that Duo always carried.

Duo shifted his burden, checking the com.

"Visitor at the front door. Looks like Mrs. Richardson, our social worker. Here," he gently deposited the girl into Wufei's arms. "Just take her upstairs, please. It usually takes awhile to get rid of her."

Wufei stared blankly as Duo pushed him into the lift and turned around. The lift stated, and Trinity blinked in her half-awake state. Within a moment, she was fully awake.

Wufei looked uneasy. Saddled with a child, he had no idea what to do. He dropped her as gently as he could to her feet, but she just stared up at him with those wide amber eyes.

"Why do you hate my Daddy?" She asked, her voice still a little sleepy. Wufei's mouth opened, but closed, doing an incredible impersonation of a fish.

"I don't hate your father," Wufei finally managed as the lift engaged.

Her eyes narrowed. "Could have fooled me," she quipped, a mirror image of her dad. And Wufei thought about it for a moment. Yes. She could sense emotions. So... she felt hatred when Wufei was around Duo? He asked her.

She nodded. "And... jelousy," she added softly. "Why?"

Wufei blinked. Why indeed? It seemed this girl could read him better than he could himself.

"I... Your father has everything. He has a career he enjoys, he has a daughter he loves. He has friends. He has everything. What's not to envy?"

Wufei couldn't believe he was talking like this to a six year old, but she just frowned, as if she was used to this.

"No. You're wrong." She looked down, her face and voice sad. "He's lonely."

Wufei laughed. "Duo Maxwell has never been lonely."

The look she sent him reminded Wufei of Heero's death glare, only small scaled and much more frightening. "You are stupid," she said, in all the righteous anger and passion of a child. She turned on her heel and marched off as the lift doors opened onto her home.

Wufei, momentarily shocked, rushed after her.

"Trinity... explain. Please. I don't understand."

She paused, and looked at him, then smiled a small sad kind of smile. If she found it odd that an adult was chasing her, begging for an explanation and claiming ignorance, then she didn't show it.

"Are all grown-ups so.... mixed-up?"

Wufei laughed. "I thought the same thing when I was your age."

"Daddy's lonely," she said softly. "He's got me, and Uncle Quatre, and Doctor Po, and Aunt Hilde. And maybe Mr. Heero, now. That's it; the only real friends he has. And it's all because of me. Everyone hates him because of me."

Wufei dropped to his knees, undone by the sight of tears in amber eyes and a quiver in that pouting, dejected little voice. In his mind, despite Sally trying to teach him otherwise, women and children were still things to be protected. He couldn't bear to see the pretty, happy little girl blaming herself and crying.

"No, that's not it at all, mei-mei," he comforted.

"Yeah. Right. It's why you hate him. It's why you haven't talked to him in years. It's me. If it wasnt' for me, he'd still be your friend."

"No, no. Trinity... what happened was going to happen regardless. It's the way we were back then." He took her small hands in his. "I was strong willed and didn't want to see anything past my nose. I buried myself in my work and I thought everyone else should do the same. And your father was brash and loud and just as stubborn as I. We were too different, he and I. Our friendship was... rocky to begin with; it always had been. It was already falling apart. That wasn't you- understand? That wasn't your fault. I'm sorry, but we just used you as an excuse, but the truth was we knew we'd never be able to stay friends like that. We knew it was going to end."

Large amber eyes looked at him, blinking back the tears, apparently trying to find out if he was speaking the truth, he thought. Apparently, she found some answer, because she reached out and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Cautiously, he returned it, unused to the gesture.

"People change," she said quietly. "People change, things change. Everything changes. Do you think... maybe you can change enough to be Daddy's friend again? I think he'd like that."

It was Wufei's turn to blink at her. He thought it over for a single moment, then he smiled at her.

"I think I'd like that, too."

~~~~{*}~~~~

AN: Okay. That was chapter four. And I think it was a bit sappy there at the end. But really... who can say 'no' to a little girl? I think I'm doing good so far.

And just a quick note: according to my sources (which may or may not be correct) _'mei-mei'_is a Chinese term used as an endearment- something akin to 'baby' or something like that. I think Wufei will probably use this alot, so if this is wrong or otherwise incorrect, then please- someone tell me. I am quite happy to correct this if I'm using it incorrectly or in the wrong context.


	5. These Little Things

AN: Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far, but I want to give a special huggles to Cinnamon Selkie for all the unwavering support. I really love the way you review. So, Huggles! And I really think you'll love this chapter!

_**Chapter Five**_

_**These Little Things**_

The very next day, Wufei received a call from Une, saying that -since Wufei really didn't want to be there- she would withdraw him. Apparently, everyone but Relena agreed that Une was being paranoid. But of course Relena would agree with Une. Heero was the one missing, after all.

"I retract my earlier statements, Commander." Wufei said carefully. "It's not that horrible. Maxwell has matured. He's not as... unwound as before. They are both quite... interesting. I'd like to stay and get to know him and Trinity better."

Une raised an eyebrow. _"Did I hear you correctly, Agent Chang? You want to stay?"_

"Affirmative."

_"I can't allow you to stay. I have other things that you would be better suited for."_

"Then I'll use my vacation time. I have more than enough saved up."

_"Are you feeling well?"_

"Perfectly fine. Better than I have in a long time, actually. I forgot how much Duo and i actually had in common. And he's a better father than you or I ever gave him credit for being. And that girl of his is extremely interesting."

Une sighed. _"Fine, take your vacation time. Hell, it might help you to have some time off. Just make sure you don't get kidnapped like the last agent I sent on vacation."_

Wufei smirked at her. "I think I can agree to that."

_"Fine. Now, I don't want to hear from you or about you for at least another three weeks, understood?"_

"Understood. Chang out."

"Are you sure you're okay?" came a voice from the door of the office. Duo stood there, his mouth open and eyes wide in surprise and shock.

Wufei looked at Duo's open mouthed expression.

"What?" he demanded. "Is it so hard to believe that I wouldn't mind spending more time with you and Trinity?"

"Yes," Duo said without missing a beat.

Wufei stared. Was he that anti-social? Had he been that cruel? Looking quickly back over the past few years, especially his comments on Trinity's adoption, and his recent behavior, Wufei decided that yes. He had. And in that moment he vowed to correct it.

"I may not like children in general," Wufei said. "But Trinity is special. She is interesting; It's a joy to be around her."

"Even if that means being around me?" Duo asked coyly.

Wufei sighed. "Duo... your company is as.... entertaining... as hers. There is no 'even if'. I may should have said this a long time ago, but I enjoy your company.... most of the time. I actually forgot how much so."

Duo stared in shock at the confession. He would have believed it to be a lie.... but Wufei would not lie. Especially not about such a thing.

Exactly what was happening? Why was Wufei changing all of a sudden?

It couldn't be Trinity again... could it?

~~{*}~~

Maybe the time was right for the wounds to start healing. It was easy to simply push the past away for a while and just live for the 'now'. It was the day after Wufei informed Une of his intentions of using his vacation time, and things were going quite well. Duo had slowly opened back up to his usual self, and Wufei in turn had dropped his former hostilities. It was almost like they were friends again.

And this had all had a profound effect on Trinity. The negative atmosphere from before was gone, so now her true personality was showing through. She proved to be even more hyper and outgoing than Wufei had thought. And, as Duo had often told him, she was a very very notorious 'cuddle bunny'. Physical affection was something she was not shy about giving or receiving from people she trusted. So, the first time she'd crawled onto the couch beside Wufei as he read and curled up against his side, he'd been a little surprised even though he automatically started reading aloud. She trusted him?

And that had him thinking. Just the other day, Duo'd nearly took the social worker's arm off when she got too close to Trinity. And yet he constantly left Wufei alone with her, leaving her in his care while he had things to do. Ever since he came here. So... Duo trusted him that much, even though all the things he'd said?

If he hadn't been sitting down already, he would have fallen with the force that realization brought. The realization that somehow, Duo trusted him despite everything; that Duo never doubted him. That even when they weren't friends at all, Duo still respected him enough to trust him with his daughter.

That alone said more than words ever could for Wufei. There was still a chance at friendship here. Maybe, like Trinity said, he was able to change enought to be Duo's friend once more. Maybe.

After a while, he noticed she'd fallen asleep. He quietly closed the book and gently picked her up, cradling her and carrying her to her room. He softly slipped her under the covers and left. He had alot on his mind at that moment, so he didn't see the indigo eyes that followed his moves.

Duo smiled softly when he peeked into the living room at first to see Trinity curled up against Wufei's side the same way she often did to him. And to hear Wufei reading Whitman aloud to her, that was just so sweet. Wufei had really turned around these past few days.

When he returned a few minutes later, Wufei and Trinity were both gone. He pushed the panic back as he followed down the hall, to see Wufei carrying Trinity to her bed and tucking her in. The Chinese man planted a gentle kiss on her forehead before turning to leave. Duo hurried back, away. He was frowning now. He was just a tad bit scared now.

That had been just a bit tender. Wufei was not supposed to have a 'tender' side. He wasn't supposed to be loving and sweet. That was even more against how Duo perceived the world than Heero smiling. But just over a week ago... Heero had smiled at him and called Trinity 'sweet'.

Damn. Why did Wufei have to go and find Duo's one weakness. His daughter. All of the anger and resentment that Duo still tried to hang onto just bled away. He couldn't not like anyone his daughter trusted like that. He couldn't be angry with Wufei for past faults. Not when Wufei apparently had changed so much.

~~{*}~~

The day after that, Duo had an important meeting scheduled with the local government and Wufei was left home like a proverbial housewife with the child. It wasn't something he was used to, and he found himself ill-adapted to finding ways to entertain a hyperactive, intelligent six year old.

Trinity was looking up at him.

"I'm bored," she stated.

"Well, what do you want to do?" he asked her. They were sitting in the living room, where Trinity had just lost interest in checkers.

"Play with me," she commanded imperiously.

"Play what?" Wufei eyed her skeptically.

She rolled her eyes in child-like annoyance. "You stand there and try to pick me up. I try to get away. Don't you know how to play? Daddy knew what I meant."

"Okay," Wufei said, standing up. He thought he might get the picture. On L2, even children- correction, especially children- needed to know how to protect themselves. Duo obviously had made self-defense into some kind of game. "I stand here, and grab you?"

"That is what I said," she rolled her eyes again.

He sighed, and reached out to latch onto Trinity's arm. She ducked at the last moment, twisting out of his reach. Smart girl, he thought. But he would teach her things that Duo couldn't. He moved an inch to the right and snatched in a lightning quick grab. His intention was to wrap both arms around her, and then teach her how to escape the hold. His arms went around her, and he lifted, her feet leaving the floor. He carefully regulated how tight he gripped. He didn't want to hurt her, after all. But that's where life deviated from his careful plan. His breath whooshed out in a surprised gasp as his arms went slack around her. She dropped to the floor and before he knew it, he bent over and was pushed back. Before he could even comprehend what happened, she was standing across the room.

"That was the part where I run away. Are... you okay? I didn't kick you that hard, did I?"She came back over, bending over him. "Wufei... are you okay?"

"You... you... you're dad taught you that?" His voice was an octave higher than usual, and Wufei was fairly certain Duo would never let her practice that particular method of escape on him. There were certain parts of a man's anatomy that were not meant to be kicked by the sturdy little toes of shiny black Mary Jane's.

She grinned. "Nope. Mama China taught me. She let me practice on Jimmy. But only the once. He wouldn't let me do it again."

"No shit," he gasped, finding it in him to sit up again. He didn't even bother to watch his language... it _hurt_, damnit! "So, you kicked me... and then..."

"Mister Heero showed me a few pressure points. I like pressure points. It's much easier than trying to put your knee against someone's nose." She reached out and touched his shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine in a moment."

Trinity sighed. "I'll get an icepack. It helped Mister Heero," she nodded sagely, then frowned. "He only let me do it the once, too."

"No shit," he muttered, trying to stand up.

"Why does it hurt so much when I kick someone there?"

Wufei closed his eyes and counted to five, and wisely didn't try to answer the question.

He was, after all, ill-adapted to being a mother.

When Duo arrived home almost an hour later, Wufei was laid on the living room sofa, ice pack held gingerly against his groin, and Trinity was sitting next to him, a checkers board balanced between them.

Duo just smiled knowingly. "Guess she got you to 'play' with her, huh?"

"Not for very long," Wufei said, shifting uncomfortably.

Duo's laughter echoed around the room, and Wufei decided that was almost worth it to hear that genuine sparkling laugh.

Almost.

tbc

~~~~{*}~~~~

AN: Hope you enjoyed it. No real notes this time, except that now my lil' sister wants to 'play' with our brother and his boyfriend. So much fun.


	6. Lost And Found

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Lost And Found**_

Duo decided that Wufei deserved a treat for 'playing' with Trinity. And so, a few hours later had dinner ready. Wufei looked dubiously at the omelet shaped item laying on his plate.

Trinity smiled brightly as she hopped up into her chair at the table, and immediately dug into the similar item in front of her.

"Um... Duo... what is it?"

Duo grinned. "Well... I'm not sure what you'd call it. It's derived from a old Spanish dish called a 'quesadilla'. But... it's not made with the same ingredients as the 'quesadilla'. More like... a pizza."

"Aunt Hilde called it a pizza-de-ya," Trinity pipped up, a gooey string of cheese hanging from her mouth to a triangle of the 'pizzadilla'.*

Duo smiled lovingly at her, then looked back up at Wufei. "Yeah. It's a flour tortilla with mozzarella cheese, peperoni, sausage, and small bits of ham. Olives and pizza sauce. That's pretty much it." He leaned over, used his knife to cut Wufei's pizzadilla into a series of triangle shapes, like Trinity's. He then held a piece out to Wufei.

"Try it. You're going to love it."

Wufei looked at it dubiously. He wasn't sure about the whole quesadilla deal, but Duo had- once- long ago, before the Marimaia Incident, introduced him to the scrumptious invention called pizza, so he took the offered triangle, gave it one last hard stare- as if to intimidate it and scare it into not attacking him- and bit into it.

Trinity's smile blossomed at the expression on Wufei's face. Duo laughed, the sound bright and merry and echoed by Trinity's lighter laughter.

"See? It's yummy, right?"

"Right," Wufei agreed with the girl, after finished off that first piece.

Trinity smiled around her pizzadilla, looking from her daddy to Wufei. She smiled, her legs bouncing under the table. She liked this. Smiling and happy and peaceful. This was how it should be. This was like a family.

~~{*}~~

Hours after dinner, and after he'd tucked Trinity in, Duo was sitting on the edge of the roof, looking out across the vast expanse of the orphanage's backyard. In the dark, spaces were shadowed and silhouettes loomed. It was a rather breathtaking sight, and he often sat here to just think. It was a simply perfect place to sit, and he'd designed it just right to capture that perfectness.

"There are more comfortable places to sit," Wufei said, sliding out beside him. The ledge was small, and Wufei's shoulder brushed Duo's companionably as he settled down.

"But none with such a view," Duo countered. Wufei examined the vista before him.

"Probably not," he agreed. "You've done well here."

Duo nodded. "I like to think so. It's just... I want to make up for things, you know? Make up for the lives I took, for the church, for my friends. It'll never break even, but it's something, y'know. Like with you and your Preventer's work. The reasons are the same. It's something _I_ can _do._I don't want any child to have to live on the streets like I did. Like Trinity was. I don't want that for anyone. I want them to have schooling, and medical treatment, and friends, and family. I want them to have a sanctuary. It's what I can do."

"I think it's a good beginning, Duo," Wufei murmured. He glanced from the beautiful view before him, to the one next to him. Shadows played across Duo's face, turning his blue eyes almost a black shade of purple. Wufei was suddenly struck with how exceptionally beautiful Duo really was. Not like Meilan. Meilan had had a fluid kind of porcelain doll type beauty. Duo was alive and vibrant and strong and graceful. And why, Wufei asked himself, was he constantly comparing Duo to Meilan. What kind of meaning lie hidden in that small fact?

"Despite what I said years ago, you are a good father. I can see that now, and you don't know how sorry I am for what I said."

"What happened between us, Wufei?" Duo asked after a moment, his voice soft.

Wufei stared back at the other young man, blinked. He didn't quite fully understand the question.

"I mean, we were never the best of friends," Duo said, thinking back. "Sometimes it was even like a rivalry between us. But... we were teammates. We looked out for each other. We got along. After... after that prison... I was closer to you than anyone but Quatre. But then... apathy. That's the only word I can think of. Complete uncaring, neglect. Even before... before Trinity. It was falling apart even then. What happened between us? What made us stop caring?" He shook his head, and looked back at Wufei, his cobalt eyes glittering in the darkness, begging for an answer.

"I..." Wufei thought hard, but his mind couldn't find anything. "I don't know," he admitted, a bit ashamed at not having the answer Duo needed. "It just happened. But Duo... I promise you that it will never happen again. No matter what, it won't happen again. I've lost a lot of people, Duo. I won't loose you twice."

Duo gave a wet little chuckle, the emotion flowing through him, remembering how many times Trinity had told him he was lost. "So... does that mean I'm found, now?"

Wufei smiled.

"Yeah. I found you. You and Trinity both. And I'm not letting you go."

Duo smiled, a genuine smile, and looked up, mouth opened for another retort. But the look in Wufei's eyes had his mouth closing, words unspoken. This was not a moment for jokes.

Wufei as still only inches away, and for some reason, Duo's gaze broke away from Wufei's dark eyes and lingered down to those curved lips.

He pulled his eyes up, back to Wufei's, hoping that the other hadn't seen his gaze travel.

No such luck. Wufei was intent on Duo's face. His lips twitched down a little, and his own eyes darted to Duo's mouth, then back up.

Duo had no idea what was going on. He wasn't quite sure he even _wanted_to know what was going on. Wufei's hand came up, brushed his cheek, and Duo sighed, his eyelids fluttering closed. This was something completely new to him. He didn't know what was coming next- only that that touch was wonderful and felt so right. When Hilde had touched him like that, it was enjoyable, but it didn't feel as... right, as perfect as this. What the hell was happening to him?

The first bare brush of lips against his had Duo panicking mentally, but physically frozen. He didn't move into the kiss, but neither did he pull back.

"Wufei?" It was the lightest of whispers, a soft question, as the other pulled back, but the moment the name fell from his lips, Wufei's mouth was back. The second kiss wasn't as sweet and gentle. There was something like passion underneath it. And slowly, with Wufei's soft persuasion, Duo melted into the kiss, returning it. Somehow, his own hand found it's way to Wufei's face, tracing the sharp planes of the face, feathering touches across cheeks, eyes, mouth, nose. Memorizing every dip of the skin, everything.

He let his lips part under the soft assault. Wufei took advantage of it, sliding his tongue along Duo's lips, teeth, gum. Exploring the soft palette, dancing with Duo's own tongue.

Duo'd never been kissed like that. Like he was cherished, protected. Like he was loved. Similarly, he'd never been kissed by a guy before. He knew that that alone should have him jerking away, but he didn't. He probably would have, if it had been anyone but Wufei. For some reason, even after what the Chinese man had done to him, he still respected, trusted him. Probably more than anyone else. And that kept him from pulling away.

That and the fact that Wufei was a very, very good kisser.

"What are you doing?" Duo breathed when the kiss finally broke, both men gasping for air.

"I have no idea," Wufei returned truthfully, resting his forehead against Duo's. He really didn't. He'd just followed his heart, followed his emotions. And he now had the answer as to why he kept comparing Duo to Meilan. The fact that Duo was another male never crossed his mind. It was just.... Duo. Black eyes met cobalt in the darkness, searching, hoping.

"But I hope that I haven't scared you away. I'd really like a chance to be friends again, Duo."

Duo had to think for a small, short moment. But he finally spoke, breathless.

"You may have shocked me, 'Fei... but you haven't scared me away. I'm pretty hard to scare."

Wufei sighed, his arms sliding around Duo, holding him close.

"How about we just take this slow, eh?" Duo asked. "I don't mind trying to make a relationship work. Any kind of relationship. I trust you."

"Slow..." Wufei murmured against Duo's cheek. "I think I can do that."

~~{*}~~

Trinity smiled sleepily as she quietly turned around, leaving her daddy and Wufei sitting outside the window, holding each other. She made her way back to her bed, and crawled in, savoring the warm fuzzy feeling spreading through her. She was happy, and she knew that the fuzziness flowing through her from her heart was coming from her daddy and Wufei. It was a warm and happy feeling; she liked it, and she was glad that her daddy was happy. He deserved to be happy. She reached onto her bedside table and grabbed the hand-drawn picture laying there. She couldn't see it in the dark, but memory told her what was on it. The family she always dreamed of having.

Her. Her daddy... and maybe Wufei.

tbc....

~~~~~{*}~~~~~

AN: Um... just a quick note about the pizzadilla. It is really good. Stole the idea from Rachel Ray, though. If you want the recipe, just let me know and I'll tell you how to make it. It's is so yummy!

And thanks for all the reviews! According to the numbers, this is probably ya'lls favorite story by me so far! That means alot!


	7. Missing Family

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**Missing Family**_

_*Flashback*_

There was nothing Duo could do. No matter what, the poor bedraggled girl just kept crying. It almost seemed as if the pain of the world had settled on her shoulders. All she ever said was, "It hurts. Make it stop. It hurts," or variations thereof.

She was a mite cleaner than she had been a day ago, but even when Duo'd dosed her with a mild sedative and sleep agent, she still seemed to be in pain from this non-existent source. He was at a loss, and seeing the poor girl in so much pain was breaking his heart...

Duo blinked down at the girl, asleep on the couch of his hotel room. There was something wrong with her. And Duo suspected it was more mental than physical. He wasn't prepared to deal with phyco-trauma. So he did the first reasonable thing he could think of.

Twenty-Nine hours after Duo'd found the girl lying half-dead and half-starved in the gutter of some L2 ally, he'd smuggled her aboard a shuttle bound for L4... for Quatre.

~*~

Quatre, it seemed, had known Duo was on L4 before Duo'd ever called. Quatre could *feel* the trauma this girl was in. Quatre had immidiately known what was wrong and had assured Duo that he'd done everything right so far. He'd explained to Duo how he could feel that the girl was an empath, like he himself was. Explained in depth everything he knew of empathy and new-type abilities before he'd taken the girl and disappeared for four days, leaving the company in one of his sister's hands for those few days. Duo'd known the girl for all of a few days, but it felt like a part of his heart was missing with her. Somehow, an irrevocable bond had formed when he'd found her. He wanted to ease her pain, he wanted to show her how life could be... how it was beyond an empty ally. He'd remembered, from his own youth, seeing others lying like her, cold and motionless on the ground. He'd remembered himself like that a few times.

He wanted to do for her what Father Maxwell and Sister Helen had done for him... and he didn't even know if she had a name or not.

On the evening of the fourth day, Quatre had returned to the mansion, hand in hand with a little girl with bright honey-gold hair and amber-topaz eyes that, though still a little dull, where glittering more than they had before. She was small boned, and small overall, though Duo had guessed she was about four. She was clean and dressed in a bright teal blue sundress and looked for all the world like a normal little girl.

"Oh, gods above, Quatre." Duo'd dropped to his knees in front of them, looking at the girl. She was staring right back at him, inquisitive and curious. It was almost a different girl from the one who'd been crying and in pain. She'd seemed much lighter and more mature than she'd been before.

She'd reached out and barely touched his cheek as Duo remained motionless. Then she'd smiled, big and bright and lighting up the room.

"Hi," she'd said.

"Hi, yourself," he replied. "I'm Duo. Do you know your name?"

She frowned. "No. Mama China just called me baby."

Duo blinked away a frown. He'd known four year olds that were highly intelligent before... but just from one sentance, he could tell this little girl was well-spoken. Her eyes, no longer clouded by pain, were sharp and keen. And despite her bright smile, there was waryness and weariness here, too.

This, Duo decided, was a girl worth fighting for. This was someone he wanted to keep.

~*~

He'd expected a little opposition the day after when he'd announced that he wanted to adopt the girl.

He hadn't expected that the man he respected above all others would tell him that he would kill the girl and suggest that he get a goldfish instead. It had played on his insecurities and had him second-guessing. But one look at the girl, and he remembered the pain in her eyes when he found her. And it cemented his resolve and determination.

And with Quatre's help... he'd not only succeded in not killing himself or her... he'd exceded at fathering and had produced a smart, bright, curious, loving and quick-learning daughter.

A daughter named Trinity

_*End Flashback*_

~~{*}~~

Starting the day he'd heard about Quatre going missing, Duo had taken to scanning the old frequency's they'd once used during the war. Set up in his bedroom, there was a small communication module from an old mobile suit. He spent a few hours each day searching for some little thing. Mostly it was just static and decayed frequencies. Nothing much that helped him or gave him hope.

Wufei was sitting beside him, reading as he kept a half ear on the noises coming from Duo's little gadget. It was early morning, and there were no meetings or errands for that morning. Duo had awoken early- unable to go back to sleep after his dream about how Quatre had helped him so long ago with Trinity- and decided to let Trinity sleep in. Wufei was up not long after him, and they'd shared a companionable breakfast of eggs and toast and orange juice- and a few passionate kisses- before Wufei had opted to joining Duo in listening fore messages from Heero. Because, Duo'd said, Heero was Heero. Any one of the five of them would find a way to get out a message. But Heero... Heero was the best of them. If anyone could get a message out... it was him.

So, for three hours now, they'd been there listening to static and abandoned radio stations and other nonsensical garbage. Duo was giving up hope. If Heero had sent out a message... he should have found it by now.

He passed back by an old frequency, and almost didn't hear the soft, steady beeps. He'd already went forward before he realized what he'd heard.

"What's that..." Duo asked, going back. It was an old Alliance code made of beeping noises in quick succession. One beep, two beeps, three beeps. Beep. Beep, beep. Beep, beep, beep.

Wufei sighed. "Nothing. Just numbers."

"Wufei... think about what your saying. It could be a message from Heero..."

Duo started thinking.

"Just numbers," Wufei said. "No message. Just numbers. Most of them are even in order. These frequency's are old. The wave-lenghts have probably degraded and are picking up from others. Besides... it's an Alliance code. It's ancient."

"One, two, three, four, five, one, one, two three, four five, two, one, two three...."

"See?" Wufei asked as Duo started repeating what he was hearing. "There's no hidden message there."

"Uncle Quatre?" Trinity asked. She stood in the open doorway, her hair falling in a messy golden nimbus around her. Her eyes were blurry with sleep as she rubbed them with the back of her hand to rid them of that annoying overnight gunk. Her pale pink night gown was wrinkled as she blinked the sleep away.

"False alarm, sweetie," Duo said.

"No..." she retorted. "That's Uncle Quatre."

"Just numbers, mei-mei," Wufei assured her.

"No." She shook her head, clearing the last of the sleep from her mind as she tried to concentrate, tried to remember. "One two three four five, three, one two three four five, four, one two three... it keeps going. count to five once, count to five twice, count to five three times.... it's how Uncle Quatre gets me to calm down. It's how he makes me meditate. It's just a little rhythm that helps me if my shields aren't working. He'll count to five, then I say one, he'll count to five again, then I'll say two, it just keeps going. That's Uncle Quatre counting! I know it!"

~*~

Trinity picked up the Alliance code quickly from her father's explanations. It was just counting beeps, after all. And she sat there all day and into the night just listening to the beeps (with small, small interludes when Duo forced her to eat). The message was on repeate, they discovered. It counted to five ten times, then a set of ten numbers out of order. Then it all repeated again. Count to five ten times, then '0173245304'

She focused on the series of ten numbers. The counting was just to get her attention, she assumed. The real message was just the numbers. Only, she had no idea what they meant. Wufei did not beleive her. And even her daddy dismissed it as the over-active imagination of a super-smart six year old.

She had worked until she memorized the set of numbers, but after two days, she started to believe her father. But it had been almost thirteen days since Uncle Quatre disappeared. Every day, the chances of finding him dwindled. She knew.

~*~

Another day passed, time drifting by slowly for the three occupants of the large Maxwell Orphanage. They wiled away, doing not much of anything. Wufei read to Trinity. He even 'played' with her, after getting her sworn promise to _**not**_ kick him _**there**_. She'd shown him that she had a fairly good grasp of basic self defense, and he'd taught her a few more ways of escape. He'd even shown her a few different pressure points, expanding on what little Heero'd shown her.

For that single day, it was slow and easy. Dinnertime found them still running errands around town. Trinity, decked out in a smart little pink sundress and tiny black mary-janes, with her hair all curly and tied with a large pink bow, was sleepy. Cuddled up in Wufei's arms, she waited while Duo went into a store to see about bed linens for the dormitories. It was a very small shop right on the border between the city proper and the _Tia Nueva_ space port. People milled around them, but they stood looking in the window rather than try to fight in the crowded store.

All in all it seemed like a carefree day between a father, a daughter, and a man trying to find his place within that bond. But two missing friends were never far from their mind, a stinging reminder that though life seemed good... it wouldn't be perfect until Quatre and Heero were returned to them.

Deep in his own thoughts, Wufei paid no attention as Trinity, dozing lightly, began to dream.

tbc...

~~~~~{*}~~~~~

AN: Welp, there's the newest chapter. I don't like it much. Too slow, but there are things in here that were necessary for the plotline. The Action/adventure really starts of in these next two chapters, which brings me to a big question for all you guys.

I have two separate story lines that I've thought of for this. A short one, and a long one. The short one focuses on Duo, Wufei, and Trinity and family/romance. The long one focuses on the same, but just... longer. It will delve more into Trinity's past and her birth family and probably how the empathy ties into things. The short one is mostly the same but will pretty much skip the in-depth look at Trinity's past. So that's my question. Which one do you want to read?

Oh... and what do you think of bringing Relena into the picture?


	8. Abduction

~~~~~{*}~~~~~

Chapter Eight:

Abduction

Trinity wasn't aware she was falling asleep, until she started dreaming. She dreamed she was standing in her Uncle Quatre's quarters on his family yatch, _'Loralei'. _She'd been there many times, but now, everything was different. The lights were shut off, and Mr. Heero was huddled against the wall, a hand held over a gaping wound in his thigh. And there was a man kneeling beside him, fiddling with the inter-ship comm on the wall. It took her a moment to realize that the man in jeans and tank top with dark greenish-brown hair was her Uncle Quatre.

"Quat... what are you doing?" Heero gasped out.

"Trying to hack the ships communications and get out a message to Duo, Wufei, or someone."

"You need to use one of the covert frequencies we used during the war. These damn pirates will notice everything else."

"Kinda figured that. I was going to code the message. Any ideas?"

"Alliance numerical code. Preventers and Duo know it by heart. And no one else will recognize it."

"So... just numbers, hm? We need a sequence to get their attention."

"Hn."

Quatre looked down at Heero. "We need to get you to the infirmary, quick-like. I don't like that wound."

"I'm fine. Just create the damn message."

A moment of silence passed.

"Quatre... what are you programming."

"A way of counting that I taught Trinity to use to aide in meditation."

"You're sending a message to a six year old?"

Heero's breath sounded a bit wheezy, and his voice was broken.

"Never underestimate that girl. If Duo gets ahold of this message, she will hear it. And then Duo should figure out the message."

"And the actual message?"

"Zero- One- Seven- Three- Two- Four- Five-Three- Zero- Four"

"Hh," Heero chuckled. "So simple. From you and me, with the coordinates in between. We used to that during the war, right? So easy. They can't help but understand... right?"

"Let's hope so," Quatre said wistfully as he sent the message, putting it on repeat. "Now... infirmary. Now."

~{*}~

Trinity awoke with a start. Wufei blinked in surprise as she struggled to get down whereas just moments ago she was dozing peacefully.

"That's it!" she exclaimed. "It's the coordinates, from Zero One and Zero Four! He was right... it's so obvious! That's exactly where they are!"

"Trin... are you alright?"

"Of course! Don't you see? I know where they are! I know how to find Uncle Quatre!"

"Trinity," he sighed as set her down on the ground. Even if her excited ramblings did make sense, there was no use getting her hopes up. "That wasn't a message. It couldn't have been. You must believe that."

Tears sparkled in her amber eyes. "It was. I do believe... just in something different than you. Quatre is alive! And I know where he is!"

She growled in frustration as Wufei got that 'adult' look like he was about to argue with her, and her eyes moved from Wufei to the space port. "I'm gonna find him," she said definitively, and took off in a run before Wufei even had time to blink, much less stop her.

Wufei stood rooted to the spot, glancing quickly back from where Trinity was disappearing into the space port, to where Duo had ducked into the store. He remained unsure of what to do for all of about ten seconds, but then he remembered his promise. He would not loose either of them. And Duo was more than capable of looking after himself... Trinity wasn't.

He took of in a run after the little girl.

Five minutes later, Duo walked back out to where his boyfriend and his daughter had been waiting on him. He looked around, but they were nowhere to be found.

"Fei? Trinity? Where are the two of you?"

~*~

"Shit," Wufei muttered as he lost sight of the little girl for the umpteenth time among rushing feet and sliding doors and general chaos of the space port.

_Damn, where was she?_ Duo'd kill him if he lost her_. Think, Wufei, think. If I were a six year old, trying to find my uncle.... where would I start? Wait... wrong analogy. If I were Duo's daughter... where would I start? Transportation. That's why she's in a space port... so, where from here?_

He remembered Duo mentioning traveling back and forth between L2 and L4. He had to have some mode of transport here... but where?

He twirled around in a circle in the center of the port. Then stopped. A large sign pointing towards a section of the port. Personal Crafts. Of course! Praying that he knew Duo, and that he wasn't making a mistake, Wufei took of at a run towards that section, a first guess for the exact dock number already chosen.

At Dock 02, he found her, hand on the fingerprint scanner.

"Trinity Helen Maxwell," she stated and the door slid open. Looking back, her eyes widened at seeing him, and she dashed into the shuttle.

"Computer, close doors!"

But Wufei was quicker. He made it into the shuttle without a moment to spare.

"Trinity... you've got to stop this. Come on, I'm taking you back to your father."

"No... I'm going to find Uncle Quatre. Computer, start engines and set course for these coordinates." She glanced at a map on the computer screen, then typed in a set of coordinates.

"Computer... belay that order," Wufei barked. He was used to working with such shuttles during his work. He was completely befuddled when the computer didn't comply.

"Please state authorization. Voice not recognized."

Trinity grinned. "Daddy's a genius," she drawled. "Only my voice, his, and Quatre's will be recognized. Along with our fingerprints. No one else can control this computer."

"Then I will overtake the shuttle manually," Wufei gritted, going to the computer.

"Computer, disengage manual controls. Voice control only."

"Voice recognized. Trinity Maxwell. Manual Controls disengaged."

"Computer, open channel to Tia Nueva Port Command."

Wufei grinned. He'd just tell them to stop, but Trinity looked up at him. The same thing was obviously on her mind.

But a solution occurred to her before it occurred to him.

"I'm sorry Wufei," she said, walking closer. For some reason, alarm bells didn't go off in his head; they should have. "Please, just promise you won't hate me after this?"

"Huh?" It seems that Wufei often found himself speechless around the girl. But what happened next definitely left him speechless.

She lifted her arms to him.

"We can go home, I guess," she said.

Without thinking, Wufei reached down to pick her up. That was a mistake. Trinity reached her arm out to his neck, and with one simple, easy movement, had Wufei collapsing unconscious to the floor using one of the pressure points that Wufei himself had shown her. She took her sweater off and placed it under his head. The floor had to be very hard. Then she turned around just as the channel to TN port command came through.

"This is the 'Cherish' requesting permission to leave port. Two passengers. En route to Colony L4," she said in her most grown up voice... which was pretty credible. She watched her Daddy every time they were in the shuttle, so she knew what to say and how to say it. And when would people stop underestimating her?

"Cherish, this is Port Command, you are cleared for departure."

L2 was still, even after years of rebuilding, lax on security and rules and regulations. So, that, plus a very good auto-pilot on the small shuttle, was how a very smart little six year old managed to leave her home colony and set course towards a rather empty stretch of space between L1 and L4.

Trinity looked at Wufei, snoring peacefully on the floor, and sighed.

He was going to be very, very mad at her when he woke up.

~*~

Une blinked at Duo confusedly, so he repeated himself. "I'd like to report a kidnapping."

"What does this have to do with the Preventers? Who's missing?"

"My daughter and Chang Wufei."

Another round of blinking.

"Agent Chang abducted your daughter?" She asked, almost incredulously. That was simply unbelievable. Agent Chang would not kidnap Duo's daughter. Something was wrong with this picture.

"No," Duo said, frowning. "I think my daughter may have kidnapped him."

More blinking.

"You're saying that a five year old girl kidnapped my top Preventers Agent?"

"She's six," Duo replied. "And in a manner of speaking... yes."

"This is no time for jokes, Mister Maxwell."

"No joke, Lady. The only joke would be in underestimating Trinity Maxwell."

"Do you know anything more, Maxwell... or are you just guessing."

"Guessing based on evidence," he supplied. "I have video surveillance of Trinity running away, with Wufei chasing her. They proceeded to depart from L2's Tia Nueva Port in 'Cherish'... the small shuttle that I use to go back and forth from L4. Only Trinity knew the pass codes, and her fingerprints are the only others besides mine and Quatre's that will open the doors. And they won't answer any messages I send."

"Let's say that I buy this far-fetched story... do you know where they're going?"

"Affirmative. About three days ago, I was scanning old frequencies that we Gundam pilots used during the war. I found nothing interesting, but Trinity claimed that there was a message there, and that it was Quatre and Heero telling her where they were. I have alot of faith in my daughter, Ma'am. But even I had difficulty believing that one. And I won't make that mistake again. I believe that she's trying to find Quatre. And I have a possible location and way of tracking them- my shuttle has a tracking device on it."

"Let me review your evidence, and then I'll send out a search party for them. Give me the coordinates of your shuttle."

"I'd like to lead the search, ma'am."

"You are not a Preventers agent, Mister Maxwell."

"With all due respect, Lady," Duo gritted. "It is my daughter you're after. And for all intensive purposes... you now have three missing Gundam Pilots. You need all the insider info you can get on all of these people. That would be me. Sorry, but I just don't trust the Preventers to save my daughter. I trust me." Cobalt eyes glimmered with a look that Une hadn't seen on anyone's face since the wars. It was frightening.

"I am not asking you to lead this search. I am telling you that if I don't, then you will have four missing pilots."

A short staring contest ensued, and it was Commander Une who eventually looked away.

"Fine."

"And just another request, ma'am. I'd like to have Trowa Barton on the team."

Une waved her hand 'yeah, yeah, of course'. And then she giggled. It was Duo's turn to blink in confusion.

"Lady... are you okay?"

She giggled again, almost like a school-girl, before completely bursting out laughing.

"It's ironic, Mr. Maxwell. He promised me that he would *not* get kidnapped. And now... he's been kidnapped... by a child. It's the classic definition of irony."

Duo smiled uneasily. "Um... yeah. Alright. I'll send you my info."

He quickly cut the transmission off, wondering if- after all these years- Lady Une had finally gone crazy.

~~~~~{*}~~~~~

AN: There's another chapter- and Trowa's showing up soon. Yay. And the feedback from the last chapter was phenomenal! Thanks so much! And as far as long versus short versions, I'm still undecided. Right now, since this is so popular, I'm leaning towards the longer version. Or at least a medium length version, y'know? Somewhere in the middle?

And I do believe that Relentles, er, Relena will be showing up soon, too. And I hope to be posting the first chapter to Empathy soon, as well, so that we'll learn more about what's going on.

Oh, and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Please?


	9. Finding Loralei

AN: Sorry for the longer than usual wait on this one, guys. Wufei's just being difficult. So, here's chapter nine in all it's glory.

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_**Chapter Nine**_

_**Finding Loralei**_

Wufei was having a pleasant dream; well, more than pleasant, really. He was pinned against the hard floor with Duo on top of him, kissing him. Duo's fingers ghosted along his sides, teasing him. They'd given kisses freely, but nothing like this. This was hot, passionate. He could feel the long lines of Duo pressing down against him. It was a wonderful feeling. He'd thought that taking their relationship further might be awkward, but dreams rarely follow what you think, or what is real. So it only seemed purely natural when Duo's hands slipped under the waistband of his pants, when they traveled further down.

"Forgetting something?" Duo asked.

"Hun?"

Wufei's less than articulate answer didn't phase the dream Duo. Instead, Dream-Duo feathered kisses along his jaw. "Wake up, Wufei. You've gotta keep an eye on my daughter. She needs you."

"Wh... what?" Wufei was finding it very hard to think with Duo doing very naughty things to him.

""Fei... wake up."

Wufei startled awake, sitting up with eyes wide open. The lighting around him was dimmed, he had a horrible headache, and he took a moment to recollect what happened.

The space port. The shuttle... Trinity. Trinity!

'Great,' he thought. 'I got kidnapped by a kid. Une's gonna love this.'

"I'm sorry," came a sheepish voice. Wufei looked, Trinity was sitting in the pilots seat, looking at him. Her feet dangled, not reaching the floor, and she kicked them back and forth, refusing to look at him, concentrating instead on a very, very interesting speck of dust on the skirt of her dress.

"I'm so sorry, 'Fei. I had to," she cried. "You would have stopped me."

He waved her off, knowing she was right. He was thinking to himself. He should have known that Duo's daughter wouldn't give in so easy. It was his fault- he should have _known_ she was up to something. Hadn't she proved by now that she wasn't your average six year old?

"How long was I out?"

"Going on two hours," she said, looking up at him. "It won't be much long until our long range scanners can pick them up."

"Shit," he muttered, standing up. "Any idea what we're heading into?"

"No," she said, blinking a little. She had been expecting him to be angry, or at least reprimand her. This acceptance was sort of shocking. "I've got the long-range scanners on. And I was fixing to activate the cloaking device."

Wufei blinked, wondering if he was still asleep. He walked over towards her, sliding into the vacant seat.

"This shuttle has a stealth mode?" he asked.

Trinity grinned. "My daddy's a genius," she shrugged.

"That he is," Wufei muttered. "I don't know whether to praise him... or shoot him for raising such a smart kid."

Trinity glowed with pride. "There's some food packets in the back, if you're hungry. I already had one. Once we get there, there's no telling when we'll be able to eat."

"She's got common sense, too," Wufei said to no one. "What's next? Astro-physics?"

"Not 'til next year," she said, completely serious. "Daddy said I have to finish the Advanced Calculus and Colonial History books first."

"You're studying Advanced Calculus?" Wufei almost didn't believe her. _Almost_, because she'd shown herself to be quite the little genius.

"I'm about half-way through the book," she nodded. "Math comes easy for me.

"Alot of things come easy for you, don't they?" he asked. She shrugged, and then Wufei had a sudden thought.

"Trinity... What makes you think that you know what those numbers mean?"

"Isn't that how you used to write directions when you were all fighting in the war?"

Wufei thought for a moment, before realizing that yes, they had written coordinates like that. Why hadn't he or Duo noticed it before? And how had Trinity noticed that?

"How did you know that?" he asked. Trinity shrugged again.

"I know lots of things that I shouldn't."

"Explain."

"Can you keep a secret?"

He nodded.

"Even from Daddy and Uncle Quatre?" she asked, utterly serious.

He nodded again.

"I know things. I saw Uncle Quatre programing the message. I heard him talking to Mr. Heero," she confided. "He explained about what it meant."

"You saw Quatre." Wufei's tone said that he really didn't believe her.

Her eyes narrowed at him. "You don't believe me. But I did. In a dream. I also knew that something bad would happen to him if he left. And look! Something bad did happen." She leaned forward. "Sometimes I dream things, and sometimes, those thing have already happened... somewhere else. And sometimes it hasn't happened yet at all. I don't know what's going on with me. This never happened to Quatre," she confided.

Wufei sat and thought. She had a few valid points. He remembered his first conversation with Duo and Trinity- the one about Quatre. And if this new theory of hers was correct, and Quatre was at the end of this journey... then she may very well be onto something. He'd certainly never heard of Quatre having premonitions, at any rate. Maybe empathy was just the begining. Maybe Trinity was a new breed of new-types. A completely new grace never before seen.

The possibilities... were endless.

~*~

"_That's _Quatre's personal shuttle?" Wufei asked incredulously. It looked more like a small luxury cruise liner. Except for the fact that it was adrift in a rather empty section of space far from the traveled paths... it _could_ have been a cruise liner. Well, that and the name blazoned across the side was clearly 'Loralei'... the name of Quatre's shuttle.

Trinity nodded. It really was no wonder that the ship had been hi-jacked... most likely either by kidnappers or space pirates. "That's 'Loralei'. Quatre dosen't like her much- too pretentious, he says. But the other Winner family shuttles are even bigger. No one would let him travel on anything smaller. They say it poses a risk of being pirated." She then made a 'hmpf' noise to prove what she thought of that particular thought. Wufei had to agree.

He'd spent most of the time since he'd woken up thinking about what Trinity had told him, about 'seeing' things. That was interesting, but there was no way to test the theory out right now. Not until after this crusade of hers was over. And since Quatre's shuttle _was _sitting right in front of them, Wufei knew he'd trust her judgement on _anything _now. And he'd unconsciously decided that he would help her; he'd never actually made a decision... he'd just sort of fell into it. And now, it was pretty much a sure thing. Because that _was_ Quatre's shuttle. And Quatre was his friend. He would save him.

There was still a while to go before they were within range of the other vessel, and Wufei found his thoughts turning slowly from the girl beside him to her father. Wufei found it disconcerting that he was missing Duo. Not just already, but at all. Two weeks ago, Wufei would have laughed if anyone told him he'd be missing Duo. But now... Wufei wanted Duo here.

Wufei was used to solo missions- used to solo missions where some body's life was on the line. But that life had never been two of his friends. And he'd never had a six year old for a partner, either. He was out of his element, and truth be known, he was a little scared.

Not for him, or for Quatre or Heero. For Trinity. She was so young, going into such an unknown situation for her. He _knew_ what mercenaries, pirates, kidnappers were like. She didn't.

Duo would kill him if anything happened to Trinity. Speaking of which... why hadn't Duo tried contacting them. He was surprised he hadn't thought of this before, but he'd been so lost in thought.

"Trinity?"

"Hm?" She was behind him now, packing a small backpack.

"Why hasn't your father tried contacting us?"

"He has," she said.

"And..." he prompted. Really. Like father, like daughter.

"And I haven't answered," she replied. "I blocked all transmissions. We are in stealth mode, Wufei," she added in a sarcastic tone just like Duo's. "What good would the cloaking device be if the enemy saw we were receiving messages?"

Damn. Smart girl. He knew that of course... but that she did... that was surprising. She just kept surprising him.

What must life be like for Duo... living with her always?

Wufei looked from her, to the viewport, and the dangerous mission that lay ahead of them. He didn't really know the answer to that question. But he was determined to see that Duo had many, many more years to spend with his daughter.

He _would_ keep her safe.

TBC...


	10. Daughter's Father

AN: See... not that long of a wait this time. And it's a little longer than the last chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

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**Chapter Ten**

**Daughter's Father**

~*~

It didn't take Duo or Une long to have everything set up. There was a Preventer's shuttle already en-route to L2 for another mission. That mission was postponed and the shuttle was to be their transport. Just lucky for Duo it was state of the art with a new stealth mode, and had supposedly two of the best agents on board. It had arrived within two hours of Duo's phone call to Une. And again, Duo lucked out. Apparently, Trowa's circus was doing a showing a city or two over. Duo tapped his foot impatiently outside of Tia Nueva. The ship was loaded, all he had to do was get Trowa and get on. Trowa should have been here.... there!

Pulling up in front of him, a motorcycle hummed to a stop. Finally.

Duo cocked his head curiously as two people got off of the sleek orange and white motorcycle. Hold on... wait a minute. Two?

Two helmets came off, and Duo easily picked out Trowa, still with his classic caramel hair swept forward. He seemed to have grown taller over the years, and leaner, as well. His green sweater clung tight across broad, defined shoulders, and jeans fit snug across slim hips. Really, he seemed the same as ever to Duo.

It was the second figure that stumped him, though. A slender, toned body bared by low-rider jeans and a white tube top covered by a jean jacket. The helmet came off and a mass of wavy red hair fell down.

"Trowa... who's your girlfriend?" he asked, smiling and expecting a smart remark in reply.

"Arianna Rowen, Duo Maxwell," Trowa waved at Duo. "Duo, Arianna."

Duo cocked his head sideways. Really? That was interesting. Had Trowa finally settled down? This was worth inspection later. But for now... other things held precedent.

"Arianna was part of Oz during the war," Trowa said, as if explaining who she was.

Blink. Blink, blink. Duo didn't know what to say to that. A part of him wanted to really hate her on the spot. And a part of him just... didn't. A part of him didn't care about anything now except Trinity.

"I left right after Trowa did," she told him, as if it was a constant war for redemption with her. "The New Zealand base that was destroyed by Lt. Noin's men... that was my doing. I turned the information over to her."

"Cool," Duo said. She'd been on their side, for at least part of the war. That was okay then. "Now... let's get going. The rest of this so called team is supposed to meet us up at the shuttle. Any idea who we're getting?"

Trowa shrugged. "Neither of us are Preventers agents. We merely received a call while we were doing a show on this colony, up in the big city."

"I'm sorry to hear about you daughter," Arianna said. "I want to help. I've got the skills, and I'm good at what I do."

"What do you do?" Duo asked.

"Whatever I do," Trowa added, green eyes challenging. "She managed to capture me once during the war. She cheated, I think, though."

"But I let you go," she said to Trowa. "I already explained that. How many times do I have to apologize? It's not like I actually meant to shoot you."

Duo blinked. Could anyone say 'drama'?

"Okay," he drawled out. "Can we get moving now? And save the drama for later?"

Green eyes and blue blinked at him in unison.

"Sorry," was the joint reply. "Let's go."

~*~

There were two people on the bridge of the shuttle when Duo, Trowa, and 'Anna walked onto it.

Both sat in the chairs there. One had soft brown hair falling in a thick curtain of large, loose curls to her shoulders and bright brown eyes. She was tall and slim and looked fairly young. Duo guessed her to be in her thirties, though she looked in her mid to late twenties. The person sitting beside her had on a cap, turned backwards over a mess of dark, dark brownish-black curls. He turned, gazed at them with sage green eyes.

"Duo Maxwell, I presume?" The man asked.

"And you are?" Duo asked after nodding.

"Agent Halo," he motioned to the woman, "And Agent Wraith," motioning to himself.

Trowa raised an eyebrow. "That meansnothing. State your given names."

The man laughed. "I'm called Eric Hardy. Joined the Preventers when Madame Darlian asked me too. I used to work for her father."

"My name is Renee," the woman said softly. "Renee Halliwell."

The others were surprised when Duo hissed and cursed at her.

"Maxwell," Trowa snapped.

"Damn Halliwell. What sick, twisted agency would hire a fucking _Halliwell_?"

Her eyes snapped up at him. "My maiden name is McKellen. I married into the Halliwells," she said.

"No difference," he growled.

"Alright," 'Anna screamed. "What the hell am I missing here?"

"Halliwells were the richest fucking people on L2," Duo said. "Up and left us during the plague. They were the fuckers who kept the vaccine from being spread around."

"Not my fault," the woman argued. "That was my husband's brother's family. Not me. I lost everything during the war, on L2. My husband, my children. Everything. Just like you."

"You are nothing like me," Duo snarled.

"Enough!" A new voice snapped. Duo, Trowa and Anna turned to stare at the new-comer. She had sandy blond hair pulled into a ponytail on the top of her head, and her brown eyes were spitting fire.

"If we are to co-exist and rescue Heero and Wufei... then we all need to just get along and get some things straight. As far as this mission goes... Mister Maxwell is in charge. But as far as Preventer's go... I'm in charge. So shape up, Halo. Mister Maxwell- can we please put personal differences aside long enough to rescue Heero? I really don't like him being out there alone."

Her voice had taken on an oddly caring, worried tone at the end.

His indigo eyes narrowed. "Yuy is more than capable of looking after himself," Duo said. "And who are you?"

"Agent Star. But my civilian name is Belle. Isabelle Rivers, to be exact."

"And you speak like you _know_ Yuy."

"_Heero,"_ she said, emphasizing the name, "is my partner. Sometimes. Level One agents have no set field partner, but are paired with whoever goes best for the mission. Since I have various expertices... and I can get along with them.... I'm often paired with Heero or Wufei. I was with him on the Tibet mission... right before he left for vacation. So yes. I consider myself a personal friend of his, savvy?"

"Okay," Trowa spoke up for the first time. "You," he pointed to Belle, "I understand. These are your partners missing. You," he pointed to Duo, "... I understand. Daughter missing. Me... my friends. Anna's here because I am. But what do you two bring to this mission? Why do we need you?"

He looked at Renee and Eric expectantly.

Eric held up his hands innocently. "I specialize in stealth and infiltration. This shuttle's my baby. Cloaking device and all. I can get you in and get you out with your friends and family before those bastards even blink."

Trowa nodded, then looked at Renee.

"I'm a scientist," she shrugged. "Geneticist. I control the Newtype Registry and am a leader in Newtype research. I have limited telepathic abilities- sort of like a built in Newtype sensor. Une thought that I might be able to help by sensing Mr. Winner, a rather strong empath."

Duo turned to Belle. "I don't want her on this mission. We don't need an empath. I want her gone."

"Don't underestimate her," Eric told Duo. "She has fire."

"Alright!" Belle said. "Can't we just get along for this one mission? Let the past lie in the past, okay, people? What matters is that there are four people missing here. Four people that most of us know and/or love. Please... let's just save them, alright?"

Her voice sort of cracked at the end, and Duo could tell she was probably close to getting angry... he'd seen the same sort of look, and heard that same voice back when he lived and worked with Hilde.

"Fine," he grunted.

Belle looked pointedly at Renee. She tossed her hands up with an 'okay', as she turned back around, perusing the ship stats.

"Wraith... can we get a move on, please? The less time we waste the better."

"Right-o, Miss Captain Lady," Eric tossed at her, with a smirk and an analyst's salute. He spun around, beginning the start-up sequence.

Belle rolled her eyes. She'd never worked directly with Agent Wraith before, but she'd heard all about his cocky attitude. She'd have to keep an eye on him. Because of his personality, of course. Not because of those charmingly handsome good looks, or those soulful sage eyes. And certainly not because of the tell-tale hint of muscle beneath his standard issue jacket. Well... at least that's what Belle told herself as she turned on her heel and stalked off.

She didn't even notice the sage green following her as she left.

tbc......


	11. Father's Daughter

A/N: Lots and lots of thanks, huggles, cookies, and all that to Waterlillylf for the proof, and the support! Love ya!

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**Chapter Eleven**

**Father's Daughter**

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Getting into the ship was pathetically easy. They'd just sailed their cloaked shuttle right on into the small hangar, with no one the wiser. And whoever was there was lax on security, because they donned their space-suits (well, Trinity donned hers, and Wufei used Duo's- under the circumstances, he didn't think the braided man would object)

They'd decided not to run the decompression sequence in the entire hangar, but to wait until they were in the small air lock between the hangar and ship proper. Even Wufei's hacking skills were good enough to keep them from noticing the sequence running.

He looked behind him when the door opened, Trinity was waiting there, still in her yellow pleated dress and mary-janes. She had a rather small bright purple backpack on her shoulders, but Wufei refrained from asking what was in it. He himself only carried his preventer issue handgun, and that was it. Not much, considering they didn't know what they were getting themselves into.

The door slid open to reveal a long corridor. Wufei blinked. Damn... this ship was bigger than he'd already thought.

"So..." he asked. "Anyone got a map?"

Trinity grinned and tapped the side of her head. "It's up here. I know this ship like I know my own house." She paused for a moment, a little confused. Then she blinked it away. "I feel alot of emotions coming from the bridge," she said, as explanation, pointing in a general direction. "It's up and forward. I can feel Quatre, and Mister Heero, but barely. There's way too many people on this ship." Wufei looked at her, remembering what Duo'd told him about her shields not being very strong. The look on her face was one of minute pain, of severe discomfort.

"It's alright, mei-mei," he said. "Just focus, and it'll get easier."

She smiled at him reassuringly. "I'm fine," she told him. "I'm just not used to crowds, or to actively using my gift on more than one person. But it's time I learned."

"Baby steps," Wufei warned.

She snorted, a sound Wufei'd heard Duo make countless times. "Hard to do when life gives you hurdles."

Wufei couldn't help but agree. "Just stay behind me," he said, drawing his weapon as they went forward. "I'll protect you."

~*~

_**(Thirty Minutes Later)**_

Wufei's eyes blinked open, taking in his surroundings, and he immediately began a tirade of curses in Chinese, English... every language he knew. He head was killing him, like he'd self-destructed his mobile suit, and it felt like his wrists were being torn off.

Oh, he glanced up. Damn. Memories came flooding back to him.

Gun drawn, he'd placed Trinity behind him as he opened the door to the kitchen, which they'd have to pass through to get to the bridge they were heading towards. He'd heard Trinity's worried shout just a second too late. He'd opened the door, and hardly even seen the guy inside- presumably one of the freebooter/kidnappers they were after, if the attire was anything to go by- fire the the stun pistol. He'd had just enough time to yell to Trinity to 'run' before he'd completely passed out as another stun blast hit him.

And now, he was handcuffed to the top rack of the metal floor-to-ceiling shelf that damn pirate had been perusing when the door had slid open. Wufei grabbed the metal pole, lifting just a bit. He was a good foot of the floor, and his ankles were shackled to the rack, too. Individually. He couldn't kick out, but his legs would be able to be spread apart...

Damn and double damn.

That freebooter hadn't been a lack-wit.

He braced his feet against the bottom rack so he could grip onto the top one and ease the ache the handcuffs were causing in his wrists. There was a long table with a sink not far from him, with a line of about three bar stools up next to it. One of the bar stools was kind of close, so Wufei wondered if there was a way he could use it to escape this predicament.

"Awake, honey?"

Wufei cast curses at the guy who'd just entered the kitchen. Dirty blond hair that was too shaggy for good looks. Murky brown eyes, and with muscles built from years of manual labor. And those eyes held a look that Wufei immediately hated, and recognized from seeing in Oz soldiers before. He'd been able to escape all those years ago... but he didn't see how he could this time.

The freebooter didn't waste time, and immediately got on with it, crushing his lips against Wufei's. The young Chinese man inwardly hoped that Trinity was okay. That she was far away from here- that she'd listened when he said for her to run. He bit down when the tongue thrust itself into his mouth. The only tongue that belonged in his mouth was his own... and maybe Duo's- though that was neither here nor there.

And received a hard slap across the face as the blond spat out blood.

"I'll teach you to..."

"Um... excuse me?"

Wufei groaned in horror, and the pirate turned. There in the door was Trinity, as perfect and angelic and small as always. Her hair was still in perfect curls, her bow still perfectly shaped. Her amber eyes twinkled with innocence, and there was a slight, unsure smile on her face.

"What?" The blond demanded, leering at the girl who'd just interrupted his 'fun' time. He really had only so much time before he had to report back to the boss-man... but he wanted to enjoy his little toy first.

"He's mine. Can I have him back please?" Her voice was polite and sweet.

The pirate laughed wickedly. "Sure, sweet thing. Right after I'm done with him. And maybe I'll even let you join me, darlin'."

He turned his back on her, turning back to Wufei. Wufei cursed himself. He'd failed himself- so much for personal honor. He'd failed Duo- he'd promised to protect his daughter at all costs. And he'd failed Trinity. She'd trusted him to take care of her, and now... she'd meet the same fate as he did. He glanced into muddy brown eyes as the freebooter leaned in closer

"Ah... you are mine," the man growled softly.

Over the top of his assailants head, Wufei saw Trinity. She'd silently climbed onto the bar stool, and she now had a frying pan in her hands, raised high.

What the....

"No, you stupid idiot. He's mine!"

Wufei blinked as the skillet came crashing down, right onto the top of his attacker's thick skull. Wufei heard him grunt, and saw his eyes glaze over and slide closed as he dropped like a bag of flour.

Wufei let out a sigh of relief before raising an eyebrow at the girl. In the aftermath of that, he even forgot to reprimand her language. He should have known that if she could knock him out... then she could certainly beat this buffoon.

She shrugged elegantly at his raised eyebrow.

"Yours?" he questioned.

At this she smiled brightly as she set down her frying pan and jumped off the stool. Her tiny mary-janes thudded against the metal floor as she used them to nudge the unconscious pirate.

"I'm very, very possesive over what is mine," she stated, rummaging through pockets. She nipped his laser pistol away, setting it on the counter.

"Just like your father. But tell me, what makes me yours?"

"Aha." She removed the key to Wufei's handcuffs. She had unlocked his feet before she spoke again. "You love my dad, don't you?"

"Yes," he replied, watching as she scooted the bar stool up next to him. It was partial truth at least. He did love Duo. But whether he was *in* love, that he didn't know yet. Things had moved pretty quickly and suddenly between them. Wufei was still trying to understand that Duo *didn't* hate him. He was still trying to understand that he didn't hate Duo. He knew he loved Duo, but he didn't know where that could lead. They'd only been together for a few days. Being in love... it was too soon to tell.

"And you love me, right?"

"Of course."

She smiled, standing on the bar stool. He could see eye to eye with her. She smiled brilliantly and kissed his cheek before lifting her arms to work at the handcuffs around his wrists.

"That makes you mine. And that makes me yours, right? Like a family? Like the family in my dreams?"

The moment his wrists were free, he dropped to the floor and snatched her off of the bar stool, hugging her tight. Poor, poor baby girl. For all she acted so grown up, for all the empathy, for all the astro-physics and self-defense... she was still a child. With all the hopes and dreams of a child. And he promised himself that even if things between him and Duo fell apart again... he would never, ever forget Trinity or shut her out of his life. Never.

"Do you want me to be yours?" he asked. Trinity blinked. She was young, but she knew that Wufei couldn't promise her the family of her dreams, but he could try to. And she understood all the implications of that simple question. Did she want to be part of a family? More importantly, did she want Wufei to be a part of that family?

Tears sparkled in her eyes and twinkled down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

She buried her face in his shoulder, as she quietly whispered her answer.

"I think I'd like that."


	12. Distressing Damsels

A/N: My apologies to all the Relena fans out there. Please, don't worry because it doesn't stay this way... things do get better. And for the record... I like Relena. Alot. (haven't you read my story Captured?) But for this story, I need her to start out as kind of annoying and childish. She will change, but for the begining, I need her to be a brat.

Sincerest apologies if you don't like that.

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_**Chapter Twelve**_

_**Distressing Damsels**_

_**~*~**_

It was only about half an hour after their departure from Tia Nueva space port when things started to look not so great. Belle sat at the helm with Eric and Renee, while Duo and Trowa were catching up down in the closet-like mess area.

'Anna came up to them.

"Agent Rivers?"

"Just call me Belle, please," the woman said, spinning to face the tall red-head. "What'cha need?"

"There are supposed to be six people aboard this vessel, no?"

Belle quickly counted in her head as she nodded in the affirmative. "Yes. Why?"

"Because there are seven people on this ship," 'Anna stated. Belle's eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure?"

'Anna nodded. "Cargo area. I'm positive- I used to be in Oz... and those damn Gundam pilots had a really bad habit of sneaking in where they weren't supposed to be," her lips curved in a small smile at that, what was obviously an inside joke. Belle turned to Eric.

"Full security scan," she told him, but his fingers were already tapping in the four perused the scan analysis that came up.

"Hot damn," Eric whistled. "Lil' Red's right."

'Anna rolled her eyes at the nickname- it wasn't the first time it had been used, and it was by far not the worst she'd heard.

Belle hit the button beside her, opening an inner ship com to the mess.

"Maxwell, Barton... meet me at the cargo bay doors ASAP. It seems we have a stow away."

She drew her gun as she stood up. "Halo, Wraith, man the ship, please. 'Anna, please come with me."

Five minutes later had the four of them assembled outside the cargo area's doors, each with weapons drawn. Belle nodded to the others, then the door, using a quick military hand signal.

"On... three.... two.... one," she said quietly, slamming on the button to open the doors. Four guns leveled on the slim, petite figure sitting on top of a container of odds and ends.

"Hey," the figure screeched. "Watch where you point those things. I think I've had enough guns pointed at me for one lifetime, thank you."

Duo stared in disbelief at the girl hopping off of the box, his gun dropping down and away. She had long, corn-silk hair pulled up into a ponytail on top of her head, and she wore dark-washed denim jeans and a pale pink sweater. She looked elegant and royal, even in the dark cargo bay.

"Vice Foreign Minister Darlian?" 'Anna's voice was the first to break through the sudden silence of shock and surprise.

"Relena?" Belle asked, annoyed and confused. "I thought you were still on Earth! How the hell did you get on my ship?"

"Psha," the girl said with a wave of her hand even as four guns were lowered. "Getting away from those so-called body guards Une assigned was pathetically easy. And I know all of the Preventer's codes," she said with a 'duh' kind of condescending lilt.

"Okay," Anna said, again being the most reasonable. "Madame Darlian... what are you doing hiding in the cargo bay?"

"Why... you wouldn't just let me join your rescue mission, so I had to take matters into my own hands." She dusted her sweater off. "It's a bit dusty in there, by the way."

Duo'd had enough. "Cut the crap, Relena," he snapped. "Why the hell are you here?"

"To rescue Heero of course," she said, as if it were obvious.

"Heero has other Gundam pilots out to help him," Belle stated, furious. "And he can take care of himself quite fine," she added.

Relena wrinkled her nose. "Agent Rivers," she sniffed. "I wouldn't expect you to understand the intricacies of a relationship like mine and Heero's. He came to find me when I was kidnapped. I'm just doing the same."

"What relationship?" Belle demanded. "The non-existent one you keep telling the press about? How about the one where you and he were engaged? Why the hell do you think he got himself transferred from your guard detail 'princess'? You're the reason he had to go on vacation in the first place. One mission every three months wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want to baby-sit you."

Relena's crystal blue eyes snapped with fire.

"Like he'd rather spend his time with you!"

"He would... He did!" Belle replied. "Because I don't chase after him like some love-sick puppy, damsel-in-distress, pretty-in-pink PRINCESS!"

Relena's mouth fell open in shock, and she started for another retort, but Trowa stepped forward.

"Okay, let's all calm down," he said. "It's too late for us to do anything right now. Relena will have to come with us. And Relena, in case you didn't know, this rescue mission might get pretty dangerous. This isn't some game... these are people's lives in the balance here. Not just Heero's. Quatre's with him. Wufei is out there. Relena, there is a six-year-old child out there."

Blue eyes seemed to calm down for a moment as all the truth sunk in.

"I can help," she said, her voice strong, but quiet. "I know I can. Just give me a chance."

Trowa turned to Belle. "We can't do anything to her right now," he told her. "Remember what you told Duo and Renee? Let's just get along for now. People are counting on us."

~*~

Despite Trowa's advice... things on the ship weren't going smoothly. Relena and Belle were at kind of a stand off, and Duo and Renee kept getting into arguments.

Trowa got the impression that Belle and Relena must know each other from somewhere, because they bickered like two pre-teen girls over their favorite doll. He didn't think Heero would be thrilled to learn of his role as the favorite doll. And Duo and Renee... those two couldn't even look at each other without saying something hurtful or angry.

Trowa growled as his quiet conversation with 'Anna was interrupted again by a shout from Duo.

"That's it." He whispered his plan to Anna, she agreed, and within ten minutes, it had been implemented. Duo and Renee were locked in the small mess area, and Relena and Belle were confined to the cargo hold. Eric heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thanks man," he told the other man. "I owe you one. They were getting on my nerves. Driving me insane."

Trowa waved off the thanks. "They're all adults.... they need to learn to deal."

"Damn straight," the dark haired man laughed.

~*~

For five whole minutes, silence reigned supreme in the claustrophobic cargo hold. Both women refused to say anything at all.

"He doesn't love you," Belle said. Her voice was soft, quiet in the rather dark room. It didn't hold cruelty, or sarcasm. It was simply a statement.

"I know," was the reply. Belle blinked. That hadn't been the response she'd expected.

"You... know? Then why the charade? Why act this way? Relena, you didn't used to be this way. Back when we were kids... you weren't like this. You've always been a bit naive, but you didn't used to fool yourself like this. Why with him?"

"You escaped, Isabelle." Relena said softly. "When your dad died... you escaped. You went and did what you wanted. I never could. You broke free, you became more than just Isabelle Rivers, daughter of a Senator. You became Belle, you became Agent Star. I didn't have that chance. All I will ever be is Relena Darlian or Relena Peacecraft. I'll be Vice Foreign Minister. I'll be 'princess'... I'll be ex-Queen of the World," she laughed bitterly. "But I'll never be just 'Lena, just another girl. I'll never get to do half the things I want to do. I'll be stuck in some dusty old office until I'm old and gray. Heero... I love him. I've loved him for a while, but I think he thinks of me as an annoying younger sister more than anything."

Belle laughed. "He's described you as such on more than one occasion," she explained. "He wasn't meant for you. And he wasn't meant for me," she added quietly. "You're not the only one to have fallen for Heero Yuy, 'Lena. But once I knew he didn't fancy me that way... I moved on. You should too. You should accept what he can offer. Friendship. Maybe even a place as an honorary little sister," she laughed. "If you don't... you might completely push him away for good."

"He's like that part of me that keeps holding on, wanting everything I can't have," Relena said. "All the things that I can't do, that I'll never get to do, see, explore. He's all of that rolled up into one person, and I thought that if I could have him, it'd make up for everything else."

"But you can't have him. Not like that. As a friend, as a brother. Like me... I can't be his sister. I'm a comrade... I'm 'like one of the guys'," she said with a hint of bitterness. "You can fill a role in his life that no-one else can. You've shared things with him that no one else has. Just as I have. Relena, where's some of that maturity all the reporters talk about?"

"Time to put on the 'big girl pants' like Senator Hubert always said?" Relena asked with a smile.

Belle smiled brightly at the thought of the gray old senator they knew when they were children, forced to attend social functions.

"Yeah," Belle replied. "It's time to put on your big girl pants, 'Lena."

~*~

Duo sat at one of the two chairs in the mess. Renee sat at the other. They'd been quiet for the past several minutes.

"So... can you really sense another empath?" Duo asked, breaking the silence. He was really wondering if she could sense Trinity. He desperately needed to know his baby girl was okay. She was with Wufei, and Wufei would take care of her. But... it was dangerous out there. And plus... if he could forgive Wufei, then couldn't he at least half-way forgive someone who really hadn't done anything wrong?

Maybe.

Renee shrugged, not bothering to look at him. "Anyone with any telepathic ability... if they're close enough." She replied, after testing his words and voice for sarcasm, but only finding curiosity and worry. "I can feel Mr. Winner, but only just barely. I can't tell you where he is, or how he is. The signal's not strong enough, so to speak."

"At least he's alive," Duo said off-handedly. "Um... Halo... Renee...can you sense anyone else out there? Besides Quatre?"

She cut her eyes at him. That was too close to her thoughts for comfort. Part of the reason she couldn't feel the Winner boy clearly wasn't distance... but that something was shadowing him, overwhelming his presence in her sense. She didn't know what.

Only that it was strong... and growing larger and stronger every moment.

"How did you know? There is *something* out there," she said. "Something big and strong- and close to Mr. Winner. It has me worried. If our enemies have something like this... we're in trouble..."

"No worries," Duo said relieved. "But at least Trinity's alright," he sighed.

"Trinity?"

"My daughter," Duo explained, relaxed now that he knew his daughter was alright for the moment. "She's the reason I'm chasing these guys. She stole a shuttle- and Wufei- and went off on a rescue mission for Quatre."

"She's a newtype?" Renee asked. With Duo's nod, she shook her head. "No. She can't be. All Newtypes are Registered. And there are no newtypes from L2 at the moment. The last two died years ago."

Duo hmphed, falling back into sarcasm. "Obviously not. How do you *know* they died years ago?"

"They were my children," she said coldly, and Duo immediately shut up, knowing that she'd gone through what he hoped he never had to. "My son, Lyle, was four. My daughter Lysia Grace was two months. Lyle had the newtype gene and was displaying signs of my own gift. Lysia *had* the newtype gene, but we couldn't tell what gift she had yet. They both died during our exile from L2."

Duo shrugged. "All I know is that Trinity is an empath... strong as far as Quatre says... and she isn't registered. I know about how Preventers take Newtypes and test them. I've protected my daughter from that. I've protected her from *everything*." He pulled out his pocket communicator- he had it everywhere he went- and opened up an image from it's memory. A picture not that long ago, at Quatre's. It was in the rose garden, with Heero and Quatre in the picture. Trinity was on Heero's shoulder's, and she was playing 'keep away' with his reading glasses. Quatre was trying very hard not to laugh... but he was failing miserably. He handed the communicator to Renee.

"That's my baby," he said. "Her birthday's next month."

Renee smiled. "That's so cute... I met Agent Yuy a few times... he really needed to lighten up. My Lysia Grace would be seven this month, you know. A few days, really. Your daughter is very pretty," she said, handing the picture back.

"Yeah," Duo smiled to himself. "She's my baby girl. And I'd give anything to have her safe and sound again. I'm going to have her safe and sound again."

Renee nodded to him, making a decision. "I may not like you much, Maxwell... but you love your daughter. I wouldn't wish what I've went through on anyone else, even you. I'll do everything I can to help you get her back... safe and sound."

_**TBC....**_

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A/N: Um... cookies and huggles if anyone can guess where I borrowed the title from. Your only hint is it's from a line in a movie.


	13. Not A Damsel In Distress, Pt 1

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Not a Damsel In Distress, Part One**

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Meanwhile, back on 'Loralei', Trinity and Wufei were busy.

The handcuffs were quickly used to chain up _their_still unconscious captive, and Wufei immediately started plotting a way to get to a weapons locker.

"No use," Trinity said when he mentioned it. "I already checked. 'Loralei' only has one. And they cleaned it out." She removed a single handgun from her tiny little backpack. "This is yours... you dropped it when that idiot conked you over the head. It's all we've got. Well, this and the stun gun that Bad Breath over there had."

"Sometimes you scare me," Wufei told the girl, in all seriousness, as he took the gun from her. "But this is still not good odds against how many hostiles?" He asked, looking at her.

"At least ten. Maybe about fifteen," she frowned. "I'm not very good at this."

"You'll get better; it's just mind over matter," he told her as he took both guns and tucked them in the back of his waistband before searching around. They were in a kitchen. There had to be something he could use as a weapon. Trinity caught on and poked around as well, but it was Wufei who stumbled upon the knife block. Most of them weren't really suited for what he needed, but he managed to find a few that would work, tucking them in his boots and up his sleeves- knives weren't his expertise, unless it was a sword- but anything was better than nothing.. Trinity glanced at the ones he was putting back in the block, and snitched a small knife away. It was tiny, the blade only a few inches long. She easily slipped it into her backpack, and shrugged at Wufei's raised eyebrow. Sometimes it was simply surprising how much older she acted. She really was her father's daughter.

"Any idea where all the pirates are?" he questioned.

"Bridge, like I said earlier. Most of them, anyways. They've got alot of the crew held up in the captain's cabin. But no sign of Uncle Quatre or Heero, least as far as I can feel. Too much interference."

"It'll get easier, mei-mei."

"Practice makes perfect, huh?" she pulled a face, showing what she thought of that cliche. Wufei smiled.

"Nothing's ever perfect, but practice will help you get better. A gift like yours... it's special. It needs special attention, special practice. You're young yet."

"Do you think my mama... my real mama, or my real dad.... had a gift like mine? Uncle Quatre said newtype abilities run in families. His mama had it, but none of his sisters do. I was just thinking... maybe my mama had it, too."

"That is a definite possibility," Wufei stated. It was very, very plausible.

"Do you think that's what killed her?" Trinity's voice was very small. "Or maybe she just forgot about me. Sometimes it's like there's too much in my head at once... and I forget who I am. Not so much lately, but back before Daddy... that's the only thing I can really remember. Not remembering who I was."

Wufei looked at her, at the shimmer of tears in her eyes. Such a big burden for a child to bear. For your first memory to be of not remembering who you are... poor baby girl.

"Now, you don't even know she's dead, mei-mei. There's a million and two possibilities. But I'm positive that whatever happened... she didn't forget you. No one could forget you, and I promise that I never, ever will forget you. No matter what happens, you are a part of my family, Trinity. You are a part of Duo's family, your Quatre's family, Hilde's. It's a fair guess, but I bet you charmed your way into Heero's family, too. Don't cry, don't be afraid... you're not going to be forgotten. Never, ever."

Trinity wiped a few tears away from her amber eyes before smiling, hugging his leg, and going back to looking for things in the kitchen. Wufei was beginning to see that she may have inherited Duo's mood swings somehow... and taken it to the extreme. He smiled after her, glad to ease her mind for a while, before he started perusing the kitchen on his hunt for more weapons.

He found a cabinet of cleaning supplies against the far wall and sighed. If Duo were here, he'd probably know how to make a bomb out of some of this stuff, he thought. Duo was good at those sorts of things. His strength lay in stealth and mass destruction. Wufei knew his way around explosives, but not with just improvising bombs. That small mention of Duo in his mind started a downward spiral.

Duo. Was Duo on his way here?

Well, of course. Duo'd be able to track his own shuttle, somehow. And Duo would never just let Trinity go.

Duo was out there, closing in fast. Wufei briefly, briefly considered just taking Trinity and hiding until Duo and the pretty much guaranteed Preventer's back up arrived. Duo would be coming, and if Preventer's had to send someone... it would be Agent Star. No other agent knew himself... or Yuy... that well. Duo and Belle could save them. But... Wufei didn't sit around and wait for rescue like some damsel in distress. That wasn't his personality. He was confident that he could remain safe long enough to find Yuy and Winner, and he was confident that he could protect Trinity for that amount of time as well. These.... mercs, freebooters, kidnappers- whoever the hell these people were... might not be sticks in the mud, but they couldn't rival _him_for intelligence. He could do this. Plus... he had his very own little life sign detector, didn't he? He had something they didn't. He had Trinity, a formidable weapon in her own adorable little way.

He could do this.

"Cool," Trinity said. She'd found a small silver air brush attached to a long clear hose

"What is it?" Wufei asked, eyeing the device.

"Air Brush. They use it to spray paint cakes and stuff with food coloring. Aunt Hilde's boyfriend is pretty good at the cooking stuff. He's got one. It's pretty fun- he let me make Daddy's birthday cake last year. It was so neat," she giggled. "I used purple and blue and yellow and green and orange... it looked just like a rainbow. But all spotted and not in stripes." She grinned at the memory. "That was an awesome cake."

Wufei tried to imagine the cake... and failed. He supposed it was for the better anyway... it might have made him dizzy.

"Hn. We need a way to surprise our hosts," Wufei said, just voicing his thoughts. "Any ideas?"

"Bomb?" She asked, echoing his earlier thought.

"Home-made bombs... that's your dad's specialty, not mine. I'd end up blowing us up instead. And we don't have any gunpowder or C-4 or anything."

"Hmm. Hey... if there's an airbrush... there's gotta be ABC!"

"What?"

"AirBrush Cleaner. It's used to clean the airbrushes. It's got alcohol, sodium hydroxide, sodium citrate, sodium borate, sodium... well, it's got a bunch of sodium's and other stuff in it. When you spray it through the brush and it makes a mist... you gotta turn your head. It smells real bad, burns your nose and throat, and it makes you dizzy if you inhale too much. I'm just guessing... but I bet it could knock you out if you inhaled enough(1)."

"Here." Wufei pulled two small, clear bottles out. One was completely full, the other half full of some kind of clear liquid.

"We should have some kind of air gun or something to spray it into a mist. That would be cool. And we have those other chemicals, they're pretty toxic, too. All we need to do if get them under pressure. Like in an aerosol can or something." Eyeing the air compressor used for the airbrush, she smiled, reminding Wufei _too_ much of Duo. "I have an idea..."

~*~*~*~*~*~

_**Around An Hour Later:**_

Duo stood looking at the familiar vessel they were closing in on. The others stood with him. Belle had already made up kits for them all, and passed out weapons. Relena had balked at the stun pistol Belle had pressed into her hands.

"Better safe than sorry, princess," she'd shrugged.

"Are you sure your map is accurate," Belle asked Duo, waving towards the rough blueprint of the 'Loralei' on the computer.

Duo nodded. "Pretty sure, Bells."

"Alright then. Everyone knows the plan. Renee's going to guard the shuttle and play babysitter for Relena. Eric and I will hack the system and regain control of the ship, and Duo, you'll take Trowa and 'Anna. Duo, you'll take care of finding your daughter, Wufei, Heero, and Quatre. And the crew, too. Don't forget that, kay?"

"Got it," Duo replied, his eyes never leaving the large ship that Eric was guiding them into.

He could already see his own abandoned ship over in the corner. His gut twisted. Trinity was somewhere on this ship. But Trinity was okay. Wufei would protect her. Wufei had promised...

Duo suddenly stumbled as a wave of pain swept right through him. It was terror, anquish, shock- like nothing he'd ever felt. It went straight through his head, his heart.

Renee's eyes widened in confusion and surprise.... and worry.

"What the hell?" She demanded.

Belle looked between the two.

"What's going on?" she asked, demanding her answer.

"I don't know," Renee snapped back. "Ask _him_!" She pointed accusingly at Duo. "I just felt a flare of empathic power from someone on that ship. And I doubt that it was from Winner, because he's just not strong enough to project emotions like that." She took a breath, calming down a bit. "From what I know, Winner can receive, but he can't send. So, it must be his daughter because she's an empath... and she's a hell of a lot stronger than Winner. In my senses, she overpowers him almost completely. His powers just get... overshadowed by hers. And she just projected a _massive_ flare of emotion. It didn't feel directed, so she must be either weak or really really scared so that whatever shields she has didn't work."

"Trinity," Duo gasped, struggling to fight down the nausea the emotions were causing in him. His little girl was in pain... something was wrong! "Oh, God. My baby."

Trowa could only listen to the sheer pain in Duo's voice. Partly from the empathic flare, but mostly because of the knowledge that his daughter was in pain and he was helpless to stop it.

Belle weighed her options. "Okay. Change of plan. I think it's obvious that something's gone wrong on this ship. We're all going to make our way to the bridge, stop this thing dead before someone else gets hurt."

Duo looked back out into the docking bay, grim determination on his face as he fought against the emotional pain. "I'm coming, darlin'," he whispered. "Daddy's coming."

TBC....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

AN: (1) Not sure if it'll really make you unconscious, but that first part is true, about the dizziness and burning. It's kind of like snorting alcohol or paint thinner or something. Trust me... I know from experience- I work with these things on a day-to-day basis.

And PS... if you're liking this, then check out it's sister story 'Empathy'... it's the Heero and Quatre side of things. Sympathy, Trowa's version will start as soon as this one is finished.

And PS... please review and let me know how you like it. I love reviews, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. So, even if it's as simple as 'yes' or 'no'. Or 'Great' or 'Stupid'. Anything, just to let me know how I'm doing and if there's something I should work on.


	14. Not A Damsel In Distress, Pt 2

AN: Just to clear up any confusion... this takes place just before the little scene with Duo in the last chapter. It's about thirty minutes or so directly after where we left Wufei and Trinity.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Not A Damsel In Distress, Part Two**

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You really scare me," Wufei said yet again, as they were slinking down the halls. In Trinity's backpack rested a hand-made fog bomb. She hadn't been sure about just the ABC, so being very careful, they'd added in a little chlorine and various other chemicals. It should be enough to knock everyone in the room out, but not kill them. At least, that's what they hoped- after all, she was just six years old, and he wasn't an expert on bombs or chemicals.

And the small explosion when the pressurized can they used ruptured... well, that was just a bonus.

Trinity shrugged that elegant little shrug of hers.

"Where do you learn all this stuff?" He asked.

"Daddy," she replied, as if the answer was obvious- which, Wufei guessed, it sort of was. He remembered saying once that Duo wasn't fit to raise a child. And Trinity both proved and disproved his theory. Certainly she was smart, healthy, well-adjusted (especially considering her background). But the things she knew, the things that Duo had imparted upon her... were things no child should know.

"Under normal circumstances, I would say that your father needed shot for teaching a young girl such things. But considering your father and you... and how much help it's been so far... Remind me to thank him when we see him."

"Wufei..." her voice was soft. "If this grenade thing doesn't work... we might not see him again."

"Don't talk like that," he told her sternly, hoping to avoid another extreme bi-polar moment. She really frightened him when she did that, leaping from happy to sad and back again in the space of a moment. He wasn't sure if it was something common in all children or just in her... but it scared him in a way that even Libra didn't.

"Really... shouldn't I be the optimistic one telling you that everything will work out?" She grinned. Wufei mentally sighed in relief, even as he considered her words.

"Maybe. And I won't tell you the everything will be perfect. You're old enough to know better and I wouldn't lie to you. But you must have faith and believe that not matter what, you and your father will be together again."

"And you'll be there, too, right?" she asked. "Like a family?"

He paused. "Trinity, when all of this is over, I promise you that you, me, and Duo... we're all gonna go back home- together. I can't promise you that it'll always be good, or that me and Duo will always be together... but Trinity, I do love you, and I'm going to try my best to make it work... for you." He was beginning to discover that Trinity needed much reassurance. It seemed her self-esteem had been horribly damaged early on, and added with Duo's... spoiling... of her, she needed reassurance about her self-worth. The only two people she seemed constantly certain of was Duo and Quatre. Wufei hoped that maybe, everything willing, that she'd be that certain of him, as well, someday.

They'd only encountered one other merc besides 'Bad Breath' as Trinity had dubbed him. He'd been rumaging around in an empty cabin and Wufei had dropped him with a double hit from the stun pistol.

After that, it only took them a few minutes to make it to the thick plated doors that opened onto the bridge. They waited behind a bulkhead a meter or so away.

"There's another door inside, on the bridge that leads to the little captains cabin. The crew is in that room. I think that there's roughly about eight of them, not counting Uncle Quatre or Mister Heero- I still can't quite find them. There's about six of the bad guys on the bridge, and I think at least three more spread out somewhere. And this door's locked," Trinity said. Wufei didn't question her. Her skills had proven right so far... why distrust her now?

"How do we get in, to get the grenade in there?"

Under normal conditions, Wufei might have felt a little foolish asking tactical advice from a six year old. But these were not normal conditions. And Trinity was certainly not a normal six year old.

Trinity pulled the little paring knife from her bag, tucking it up the sleeve of her sweater. Wufei was still kind of awed that after everything she'd done... her dress and sweater were all still perfect and clean. She took the hand gun from Wufei's waist band before he could even blink. It disappeared somewhere under her sweater, but where he didn't know. How did women do that? Hide things in places where you'd think you'd be able to see them... but you couldn't?

"Stay here. I'll get them to open the door, and you can keep it open from this side."

"No," he said, regaining his sense. "Absolutely not."

"It's the only way. Trust me, Wufei. Puppy Dog eyes always work."

"Huh?"

Trinity blinked her wide amber eyes up at him. "It's a kid thing," she said, shouldering her bag and smiling at him.

"Just keep ready, cause I don't wanna stay in there after this thing goes off," she quipped, turning. Before Wufei could say anything, she was gone.

Wufei cursed. "Oh, Nataku. Duo's gonna kill me."

~*~

"Still no sign of the rich Japanese guy... or any of the Winners," a man reported. Bragnon cursed silently.

"This is the right ship, and our sources _said_ that _the_Quatre Winner would be onboard." Bragnon growled. "So where the hell is he? And how the hell did the only other person seemingly worth our time has disappeared into thin air? Hmm? Mark, tell me! How?!?" He slammed a fist down upon the computer console.

"This wouldn't be a good time to mention the unidentified shuttle in the hangar, I take it?" Another man smirked. "It wasn't there before... and now it is. And we haven't heard from Richard in over a hour now.

Bragnon cursed again. Was nothing on this whole escapade going to go right for him?

"Help!"

Bragnon turned from his spot at the helm as a little voice echoed around the ship and the sound of tiny fists pounding on the door. He motioned to Tomas, who opened the door. Four pairs of guns trained on the tiny thing that stumbled into the control room.

"What the...?"

"Oh, please. Help. I was hiding in my uncle's cabin! Now there's someone after me. He... he... killed the man in the cabin who was gonna help me, and another in the kitchens. Oh, please. Keep him away from me!" Bragnon could see now that it was a little girl, about four or five years old. Tears were falling down her cheeks, staining the pristine white sweater. She made to hug the nearest pirate to her... Tomas... but he growled.

"Stay back, kid." He raised his gun back up.

"Tomas," Bragnon scolded, a gleam coming into his eyes. "How rude. Can't you see she's scared. Such a tiny thing. We really should take care of her," The gleam in his eyes and his tone told everyone in the room that there was really something else he had in mind. Maybe at least one small, small thing could go right for him.

"Oh," Tomas said.

"But... she's just a baby," Louis, the man who'd warned him of the unidentified ship and the missing Richard, said slightly apalled.

"That's why we must protect her," Bragnon insisted. "Come here, deary. Why don't you hand Uncle Tomas that bag you're carrying and rest. You're safe here."

Tomas grabbed the bag away, rummaging around in it. Mostly just first aid stuff, random things he guessed any kid would grab. "Huh. Brag, lookit here." He held up a silver can-like object.

"No! Don't touch that!" The little girl scolded, her voice high and whining. She made a grab for it, but Tomas jerked it out of her reach, and Mark raised his gun back up a notch. "Don't touch it."

Tomas grinned, turning it over in his hands. The girl scowled and pouted, backing back towards the door. "Please," she begged. "Don't touch it!"

"And why not?" Bragnon questioned, walking forwards. She backed up even more, her back almost to the door.

"He really should have listened to me," she said, her voice a little stronger and older now. "Idiot." Suddenly, Bragnon's eyes widened as a small pistol appeared in her hands. She raised her arms, her whole, small body shaking with the recoil as she fired at Tomas. Confusion was evident amongst all of them.

Her first two shots hit Tomas in the leg, but her third hit the silvery can. Bragnon leaped forward, jumping at her even as he heard the 'bang' and felt a small shockwave in the air. Damnit... that was the last time he trusted a female... even a small one!

~*~

As soon as he heard Trinity revert back to her normal voice, Wufei re-opened the door. Several thing happened at once. He heard three shots in quick succession followed by an explosion.

Bingo... she'd hit her mark. And then Trinity came stumbling out of the room, a large brute of a man on top of her. The door slid back closed even as Wufei growled and dove for the man attacking Trinity.

But the man simply rolled off of her, his eyes blank and glassy. A large red stain blossomed on his chest around the knife imbedded there. Wufei looked to Trinity, scrambling back. Her eyes were wide and fearful, her mouth open.

"I... I didn't... I didn't mean to," she whispered. "I... Is he? Is he dead?"

"He's gone, mei-mei. He's dead." Wufei told her, gathering he up into his arms.

"Oh... but I didn't mean to! I'm sorry, so sorry. It was an accident!"

Wufei held her close as sobs wracked her body. She was so mature sometimes that Wufei forgot she was just a child. A child that had never taken a life before. He could sort of feel the shock, horror, fear rolling off her. It was almost tangible. Wufei wondered if her empathy magnified the feelings she must have. But that was only a secondary thought. His first was making her feel better.

"He would have killed you, Trinity. And worse. You did right. It's okay."

"But... it... it feels horrible!"

"It's supposed to, mei-mei. But it was him or you. And I don't mind saying that I'd rather you were alive than him. He's killed many people. But no one else. You stopped him. You did good."

He rocked her back and forth for a moment.

"Mei-mei," he said. "Please. We need to find Wi... We need to find Quatre and Heero. We need to let those crew members know what's going on. Trinity, there's work to do."

She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing with a force Wufei put down to shock. "I want Daddy," she sobbed.

"Okay. Come on, we'll help the crew while we wait on your daddy to come. He's on his way. You did good, you did the right thing." He stood up, the girl still cradled in his arms.

She'd already done more than any child should have too... should be able too. And Wufei didn't plan on asking anything else from her until she let him know she was ready.

All she needed was time.

TBC....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

AN: And since no-one's guessed yet, I'll go ahead and tell you where the titles of these last three chapters came from. If anyone's watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Depp is so HOT!), then you are probably familiar with the scene where he starts ranting to Will (also very hot) about rescuing a certain distressing damsel... 'or was that damsel in distress'? I love that scene. As well as when he's ranting about how everyone there had tried to kill him, and one of them actually succeeded. I love that movie. Well, please let me know what you think.

DJ


	15. Good LuckBad Luck

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

_**Good Luck/Bad Luck**_

~*~*~*~

Duo and company had just reached the kitchen. Belle stared at the gagged, still slightly dizzy man handcuffed to a metal shelf. Any other time, this would have her laughing her ass off. But not today.

Today... she was on a mission.

"I assume that a little Chinese man, probably accompanied by a six year old girl passed by this way?" She asked, crouching down in front of the man. He nodded miserably. She nodded to herself as she stood up.

"If I know Wufei, he's probably heading towards the bridge. Let's move out."

She turned to walk back through her group, passing by 'Anna- who was trying not to laugh at the situation. The man was left chained and gagged.

She walked through the doors... and right into someone.

Her momentum had her crashing into her opponent, tumbling to the ground. Quick reflexes had Belle twisting so that she fell on top. A series of clicks were heard as Belle's group drew their weapons. Another click, only seconds later, from Belle's opponent's companion. Belle withdrew a knife, the blade coming centimeters from a pale white throat before she looked up, panting, at the second newcomer.

"Put the gun down else I'll slit his.... Heero?"

Belle blinked up into confused blue eyes. She'd never seen that particular shade of blue look that confused.

"Belle?" came a soft voice. She'd never heard that voice that soft either. Something had to be wrong. Her eyes locked onto the white gauze visible where the blood stained white shirt was hanging open.

"Heero... are you okay?"

"Pardon, miss," said the blond under her, "But could you perhaps get off? Kinda hard to breath with a knife against your throat."

"Wha...." Belle scrambled up, back, knife held limply in her hands as she took stock of the situation. A blond, whom she presumed must be Quatre Winner, lay on the floor where they'd both fallen, and her partner and friend leaned back against the wall of the corridor, one hand holding a gun perfectly steady, another pressed against a bandage across his side.

But it wasn't Belle who acted first, it was someone else.

"Heero!" Relena exclaimed, rushing forward, pushing Belle aside. The former Queen of the World had a small first aid kit in her hands. "Oh, you poor darling. Here, let me help you." She opened the kit, then went to remove Heero's bandage.

"Leave it," he ordered, then looked at Belle. "What the hell is she doing here?"

"I just...." Relena started, then fell quiet. "Okay."

Belle smiled fondly at the girl. She walked towards them.

"Big girl pants, Lena," she whispered into the girl's ear before leaning up and kissing Heero's cheek, wrapping an arm gently around his shoulder.

"Heero, we were so worried about the two of you. Everyone was. Even Relena, who sort of stowed away on our shuttle."

"Hn." Never one for shows of affection, she didn't linger long.

"Duo?" Quatre stood up, receiving a full-fledged bear hug from his friend. "What happened to Trinity? I felt... I felt... So strong. So painful."

"Me too," Duo said quietly. "And I don't know. That's why we're all here. Trinity kidnapped Wufei and they're *here*, on 'Loralei'."

"Wait," Heero interupted. "Did you say Trinity *kidnapped* Wufei?"

Duo nodded. "Yeah. Not surprised are you?"

"Hn," Heero humphed. Clearly not surprised.

"Wait... Trinity's here?" Quatre demanded.

"Yeah. She stole Cherish... and Wufei... and Cherish is in the hangar, so yeah, I hope she's still here at least."

"Oh, no. Not good." Quatre muttered. "Not good. Duo... we need to get to her, now."

Duo's eyes narrowed. "Well, duh. Of course... Quat, what's wrong?"

"We've listened in on quite a few conversations on this ship," Heero said. "Most of these pirates have.... fetishes. And they've been quite graphic in describing them. Trinity's not safe on this ship. In fact... no one's safe on this ship."

"What do you..." Belle began.

"Remember the Caracas mission?" Heero asked.

"Oh..." Belle said. "Oh, god. No. We need to get to that girl and quickly."

"Caracas? What?" Eric and Relena said together. Both seemed clueless.

"I got captured by a gang during a mission," Belle said, voice tight. "And fourteen against one isn't good odds, even if you're a preventer's agent."

"Come on," Duo snapped, walking through the crowd. He really didn't want to know what happened in Venezuela. "Let's get a move on. My daughter and my boyfriend's out there with these creeps. Move."

"Boyfriend?" Quatre echoed. "Wha...?"

"Apparently something happened on L2," Belle shrugged. "I don't know, but he's right. Let's go."

She didn't see the look that passed between Quatre and Heero. If she had... she might have noticed something different between them. A look that she never thought she'd see on Heero's face.

"Y'know," Renee said to Duo, catching up with his brisk pace. "I didn't get the chance to be a mother for very long, but I hope that I would have made as good a parent as you. That little girl is lucky to have a father like you."

"Thank you," Duo replied. "I think that maybe you would have. Maybe when this is all done, you'll get to meet Trinity. I think she'd like you."

Renee smiled. "I'd like that. You're not half as bad as I first thought you were."

"Ditto for you."

~*~

Everyone on the bridge was unconscious, but alive. Wufei thanked whatever powers-that-be for that luck. And there, off to the side, was the door Trinity had told him about. Still holding the little silent girl, with her arms around his neck, he went and pushed the button to open the door. He could really use help right about now. Maybe the crew could help.

The door slid open... and Wufei found himself face to face with a stun gun.

"Wha..."

"Who the hell are you?"

The man demanding the question was clearly *not* a crew-member. He was dressed in the same fashion as the pirates. Damn, Wufei thought, mentally cursing the powers-that-be. That wasn't good luck. And as he was holding Trinity, he couldn't draw his own gun. He should have *checked* before he opened the door. Damn.

"What the hell did you do? Where's Brag?"

"If you mean that brute of a guy laying outside the door... he's dead. All these people are unconscious," he said, backing up slowly as the guy walked forward, gun pointed steady.

"Listen," Wufei reasoned. "I have backup on this ship. All we want is the crew and passengers, safe and sound. Keep the damn ship if you want, just let the people go."

"Fat chance. All I see is you. And you're not in any position to try and bluff your way out. And what do you mean? Dead?" He looked around Wufei to see the lump in the doorway. Wide eyes looked back at him. "What did you do? What happened?"

Wufei had to think fast. "Found this tot in the cabin," he said. "I've been keepin' her with me. Fog grenade's what happened here. She inhaled some of the gas while I was grappling with the brute back there... she's out cold."

Trinity hadn't moved, but Wufei doubted she was asleep. Hopefully she could play along.

"Get in there," the man motioned towards the cabin. Wufei followed the directions, slowly carrying Trinity into the cabin. There were, true to Trinity's prediction, there were exactly eight people in the room. Two were sitting in front of a desk, three against the far wall, and three against the closer wall. At least five of them were asleep, and though all alive, they looked severely poor and pale, think and sickly, and in poor condition. They'd probably been stuck in this room with little food ever since the ship had been hijacked.

"Sit down," the man ordered after snatching Wufei's gun from his belt. Wufei placed his back against the far wall and slid down until he was sitting on the floor. He shifted Trinity to cradle her against his chest, with her head buried in his shoulder.

Things were not going well. He'd promised Duo that he would protect Trinity, and he wasn't doing that good of a job. Mostly, she seemed to be saving him. He was an utter failure. He could never do anything right. He'd failed to protect Meilan. He'd killed her.

Of course, it was her own foolishness and Oz that had killed her. He knew that. But he'd made a promise to her. A promise to her family and his own. A promise to protect her. She may not have needed protection often- she was a brave, strong woman. But the one time she had needed him to protect her... he hadn't been able to save her.

Trinity was strong as well; and growing stronger with every passing day. But she still needed him to protect her. He'd made a promise to protect her.

And damnit... he would keep that promise. He *would* protect her.

TBC...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

AN: Please review and let me know what you think. We still have a couple chapters left... round five or so. And this is just a little spoiler note for the next few chapters up until the end so don't read any further if you really don't want to know.

First off, for once, it's not Quatre going on the guilt trip. Secondly, I think I have a fetish with killing off characters. Quite a few died in How To Save A Life, someone died (in the past) in 'Leave The Memories Alone', Someone dies in My Last Breath. I've killed off alot of people, including one of the bad guys in this story ... and I'm going to do it again in this story (Mwahaha!) And Third.... There are alot of twists and turns still to come, so don't expect all of your theories to turn out correct.


	16. Halos of The Sun

Last Time: Things started looking up when Duo and crew bumped into Quatre and Heero, both very much alive though Heero seems badly injured. But, on the other hand, Wufei and Trinity are now at the mercy of the space pirates. Can Duo and team reach them in time?

_**Chapter Sixteen**_

_**Halos Of The Sun**_

_**~*~*~*~**_

"Renee?" Duo asked.

"Yeah?" She asked, without turning. They were still making their way forward. They'd even found another bound merc in a cabin. Belle had made a joke about Wufei leaving them bread crumbs to follow.

"Can you, y'know, tell if Trinity's okay?" His voice was quiet, worried.

She frowned, but shook her head sadly. "I can tell you she's alive, but that's all. I'm not an empath, so I couldn't tell you beyond that."

"And is she up ahead?"

Renee shrugged. "I'm sorry. I don't know."

"But before... you could tell where she was, right?"

"I was far enough away to just point in general direction. I'm too close to her now, and she's too... massive."

"Huh?" Duo almost paused, looking at her. She looked back at him

"Remember, I told you earlier that her gift is just so *large* it overshadows everything around her. She's on this ship, but more than that, I can't tell. Her presence just leaks all out, over everything. In essence, she's blinded me with her light."

"Oh, yeah," Duo nodded. Renee had a troubled look on her face as she explained, and that expression just didn't sit well with Duo. "Something wrong with that?" His baby was special. But he already knew that.

She shook her head no, but then relented. "Mister Winner, according to the Newtype Registry, is a fairly strong empath. I'm talking about the upper fifty percent, maybe even the upper twenty-five percent. The fact that she's stronger than him without being registered makes me worried. The fact that she's not on the registry at all is slightly troubling. But the fact that if he's close to her, she completely masks his signal? That's scary. That much power, without anyone knowing she even exists? If something were to happen and she decided or was forced to use her gift *against* someone? Earth and the Colonies would be defenseless. She quite possibly could be the most powerful New-type ever found, Duo. That's what's wrong."

Duo nodded. "I understand, but you don't know Trinity. And you don't know me or Quatre or Wufei or Heero, or anyone that loves her. If you did... you wouldn't be so worried."

"I don't know," Renee whispered, even as a thought struck Duo.

"Hey, Quat? Buddy, any help from you?"

"Hm? What?" Quatre was near the back, him and Relena helping support Heero, who was very, very weak.

"Can you pinpoint anything from Trin?"

Quatre's face scrunched in thought. "I've been keeping my shields as strong as possible, especially after that broadcast of hers completly ripped through them, but I'll see."

He paused, him and Relena giving Heero a short little rest. Quatre closed his eyes, and after a moment, opened them again, the blue-green color sparkling and swirling with un-told emotions. "She's okay," he sighed. "She was very upset about something, but she's calming down now. There's alot of fear and guilt from her, but I think she's going to be alright."

Duo sighed in releif as they all set out again. Renee touched his shoulder.

"You have faith in your lover, do you not? Just believe that he will take care of her."

Duo cracked a grin. "He's the one that needs protecting, not my girl. She's something special, even without the empathy. She smiles at you, and you can't deny her anything. All this curly gold hair, and those big huge eyes, with her long lashes just blinking up at you."

Renee smiled wistfully. "My baby was like that. She had what her daddy called 'puppy dog eyes'. So big and innocent, but sparkling with mischeif."

"That's what I say about Trinity. Puppy Dog Eyes are a legend in our extended little family... especially hers. I always said she learned it from Quatre. If... If you don't mind me askin'... what happened? Your children?"

Renee swallowed. "Lyle, I had to watch him die of that damned sickness. My brother-in-law refused to give us the cure unless my husband agreed to help him spread the sickness among the lower class. He refused." She swallowed back tears. "The day after he died, we took Lysia Grace and were going to get off the colony, though we weren't supposed to leave. We were going to take some of our friends with us. The lived on the streets of New Utah, and there was a riot when the others caught us trying to leave. My husband was shot and killed in front of me, and Lysia fell from my arms, and hit her head. I just managed to hear someone check her pulse and say 'This one's gone', before my friends managed to pull me away. I escaped that day, but everything I loved died on L2."

"You..." Duo gulped, an odd feeling setteling over him. "You said New Utah?"

"Yeah... you've been there?"

"Once," Duo said, looking away. "Once, a long time ago."

"You don't sound like you liked it very much."

"Oh, on the contrary," Duo said, unable to lie- or withhold the truth. "New Utah changed my life, for the better. That's where I adopted Trinity."

"Adopted?" Renee pulled up short. "She's adopted?"

Duo nodded. "She was about four when I found her, lying sick, left for dead in a gutter in some back alley of New Utah. I was in a very bad spot in my life. I had nowhere to go, nothing to do. I was heading out to alley, because I planned to kill myself that day. Until I found her. She saved my life as surely as I saved hers."

"Can... can I see that picture again?"

Duo reluctantly acquiesced, knowing and dreading the drama he felt about to unfold.

Renee stared at the smiling little girl on the screen. At the brown eyes so much like her own. At that smile, that now that she tought about it looked so much like Lyle's. Her curly hair, but in her father's pale honey brown. It had been so many years, she'd forgotten what her baby looked like, but she could see the little similarities now that she was looking, little things that reminded her of her family, of her husband's family. Her mouth fell open in a tiny little gasp as the realization hit her.

Her baby was alive? And healthy? And happy? And... an empath? Her baby was *alive*.

Her breath caught in her throat, tears welling up in her eyes as she stared at the picture.

"That... that's my..."

Her sentence was cut off as Duo put his hand over her mouth. She looked up, confused.

"Don't finish that," he begged. "Please." his eyes showed all the mixed up emotions inside him. "Not yet, please. I just wanna get my baby girl back safe."

She nodded silently as his hand slipped away. Lysia's safety was priority. She would have to wait for confirmation or denial. It could wait.

"Duo?" Quatre pushed his way forward through the group, leaving Trowa to help Relena with Heero. "Duo, what's wrong? You're panicing, what happened?"

"Not now," Duo shook his head, pushing back all the emotions inside him. "Not now, not yet." He took a breath, looking at Quatre. "Later, Quat. I'll tell you later. Just... I want my baby girl."

He turned, taking off at a run down the hallway.

"Duo," Renee took off after him, even as the truth in his words hit her. Whoever this child was... it wasn't her baby girl... not anymore. Trinity was Duo's daughter... and no matter what... Lysia Grace *was* dead. No matter what DNA said, no matter what her heart said, she couldn't regain what she'd lost... and she most certainly couldn't do to Duo what had been done to her. Tears slipped down her eyes. "Slow down," she pleaded, fighting her own emotions. "Wait for me."

"Duo?" Quatre called after them, the emotions from the two pounding at him. "Come on... we've got to catch up to him," he told the others.

Heero pushed Trowa and Relena away.

"You two go, I'll catch up."

Relena looked at him, eyes wide. "No, Heero, you can barely stand up. We can't just *leave* you."

Quatre stopped, turned around, aqua eyes meeting Prussian blue. "Heero?" he asked, worried.

"Go," Heero told him. Quatre stared into Heero's eyes for a moment, tears sparkling there but refusing to fall.

"Go," Heero repeated. "Quatre, go. Trinity needs you *now* and I'm just slowing you down. I promised I won't leave you alone- and I won't, now *go*."

Quatre nodded once. "Okay," he whispered,pushing past Relena, leaning up to place a kiss against Heero's lips. Trowa looked a little shocked, and Relena positively horrified. Anna and Eric merely blinked, not knowing that it was anything unusual. Belle cocked her head almost curiously before placing a hand on Quatre's shoulder as the blond leaned back.

"Let's go."

Tears sparkled in Quatre's eyes even as he turned to follow down the way Duo'd went.

"I'll watch after him, 'Ro," Belle said, meeting her partner's eyes. Heero nodded.

"Thank you," he replied. "I just found him. I wanna keep him. Please, take care of him, Belle."

She smiled softly.

"Five by five, 'Ro. Remember that, 'cause that's what I promise. Five by five."

TBC.......

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

AN: Okay... so.... how was it? The entire chapter was kind of like a cliffhanger. What's Duo going to do about Renee? (Okay... show of hands: how many of you *really* saw that one coming?) And can anyone say wow.... what's up with Heero and Quatre? And what will Relena have to say about that? And.... what's happening back with Wufei and Trinity? Well, you'll just have to keep reading to find out. Reviews are welcomed and cherished.

PS... just in case anyone's wondering about the whole 'five by five' thing, it means 'okay' or 'fine' or 'alright'. Belle's promising Heero that everything's going to be okay. It will have more meaning and relevance in Empathy, when we learn more about Belle's whole role in Heero's life.


	17. Family Found

AN: I apologize for the much longer than usual wait for this chapter. My grandmother-in-law passed away quite suddenly, so writing, reading, and updating took backseat for awhile, and then my husband fell ill with a cold after taking the kids trick-or-treating and my computer went on the fritz. I sincerely apologize for keeping everyone hanging, and without any words, but everything happened quite suddenly and all at once. So, hopefully I'll be getting back to my regular schedule now. Thanks for bearing with me. -rooftops

Last Time: Renee and Duo both realized that Trinity is actually Renee's long thought-dead daughter, Lysia Grace. Quatre's empathy tells him that Trinity was still upset, but calming down and we saw the first hint of a romantic relationship between Heero and Quatre.

Now, for what happens next...

_**~*~**_

_**Chapter Seventeen**_

_**Family... Found**_

_**Part One**_

~*~*~*~*~

Colors swirled together, mixing in blurring tendrils all around her. She *knew* that she'd had no other choice. It was an accident, but she'd had to save herself. But knowing that didn't change the fact that someone was dead... and she'd killed him. It hurt... it hurt deep into her heart. It didn't change the fact that she'd *felt* his last thoughts. The confusion, shock. The anger, the pain. She'd felt his last breath, she'd looked into his eyes as they'd glazed over. And it *hurt*.

Now, she was working, trying to fix her shields. That single moment of horror had decimated her shields, turning carefully erected brick walls into nothing more than dust. It was hard, trying to re-build them all by herself. It took *forever* to do it with Uncle Quatre' help, but alone? It would take even longer. But slowly, minutes ticked by and layer after layer was put between her and the colors, pain, everything around her. Slowly, second by second she regained a little bit of control over herself, finding herself within the storm of emotions battering her. She clung to thoughts of her father, trying to remember everything that made her *her*. Distantly, she could feel Wufei rubbing circles against her back, feel his breath feathering through her hair; and it all helped to calm her down even more. Finally, she was to the point where she could distinguish the emotions around her, assign them to a person and not just a vague 'someone else.'

And that was when she felt it. Out there, in the mix of emotions around her, a distinctly familiar presence. It was full of worry... for her.

DADDY!!!!!

And all around him, close to him. She felt Uncle Quatre, and even the not as familiar presence of Mister Heero. And others. But another, familiar but not. Something so basely familiar, as if she knew it, but didn't. Someone else, worrying for her. She didn't know how or why, but she instinctly felt that this was her mother.

She knew it deep within her heart. Her mother... was here. Her mother... and Daddy... were both coming for her.

After that, she struggled to rebuild her walls as quick as she could, and it went much more smoothly. In a few moments, she was as close to normal as she could get at the time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wufei was at a loss as to what to do. Trinity had trusted him, and now... this. She was so withdrawn she almost seemed comatose, and he'd *failed*. He'd failed Duo, he'd failed her. She was hurting... because he let her get into a situation that resulted in lethal force. Duo'd told him once, a very long time ago, that everyone who loved him had died. Almost like a curse.

He had a curse,too. Wufei thought. Everyone he loved died. His parents, his family. Right when he'd really fell for her, Meilan had died. And now... right when he was starting to fall for Duo...

No. Trinity would not die. Duo wouldn't. No one else. Never again would someone die because of him. As soon as this was over, as soon as Trinity was back safe on L2 with her father, Wufei would be gone. Back to the way it was before. Duo had been happy without him. Him and Trinity had been safe and happy. Whatever had happened on L2 would be forgotten, like some distant dream. If apathy was what it took for Duo and Trinity to *live*, then that's what it would be.

There were three men on the bridge now... well, three awake. None of them had been on the bridge when the bomb went off. Wufei hadn't heard much of what they were saying, but he knew that if something didn't happen soon... he'd have to find a way to get Trinity away from here. From the snippets he heard from them, the way the now dead man had talked earlier, and the tell-tale signs from the two women in this room... these were not people he wanted Trinity to be near. She wasn't safe with these people. Hell... no one was safe with these people.

"Is she okay?" the woman next to him asked softly. He looked up at her. Her face was lean, but Wufei had the thought she might have been a bit rounder a few weeks ago. There were bruised across her face, around her wrists. Her clothes were torn in very obvious ways, but her eyes were still bright and strong, the eyes of a fighter, of a survivor. Wufei blinked at her, drawn from his thoughts. He tilted until he could see Trinity's face. Her eyes were open but staring at the wall.

"Mei-mei?" he whispered. "Trinity, look at me."

She blinked, her amber eyes coming to meet his. He could see the swirling maelstrom within her through those eyes. No, she wasn't okay. It would be a very long time before she was okay. But was she going to pull through this?

She lifted a hand to his cheek. "'Fei, Daddy's on his way," she said, her voice soft, but sure.

"I told you, Trinity. Your Daddy wouldn't leave you. He's coming."

"No," she corrected him. "Daddy's *here*. On the ship. And so is my mother."

Wufei stared at her. What? How could she know that? Wait... he paused. This was Trinity he was talking about. And so far, he'd had no reason to doubt her.

"Daddy's with my mother," the little girl said surely, "So is Uncle Quatre and Mister Heero, and a bunch of people I don't know. They're not far away, and they're coming closer."

Wufei held her tight, watching as their captor, and another two mercs that hadn't been on the bridge, moved about outside the cabin. He desperately hoped that Duo was close. He didn't know how long it would be until someone out there would decide to try and take Trinity away.

"Someone's coming?" The woman beside them asked, voice hopeful, but doubtful at the same time.

Trinity turned.

The woman blinked. "Miss Maxwell?"

Trinity nodded. "Hi, Captain Reed." Trinity knew the lady very well. As the captain of the 'Loralei', Captain Reed was strong willed and intelligent. Trinity like her well enough.

"What in Heaven's name are you doin' here, child? I thought you were with your dad, safe back on L2."

"Me and 'Fei had to rescue Uncle Quatre... but it's not going so well."

The captain looked from Wufei to Trinity. "I haven't seen either of them since that first day. I did hear the mercenaries talking, though." She swallowed. "They said that when they went to shoot some little dark haired smart-alec, the rich Japanese fellow jumped in front of the gun and took the bullet for him. After that, they couldn't find them. Either of them. I think they may be alive still."

Trinity nodded. "I know they're alive. They're with my Daddy. Help is coming... and they're close. Everything is going to be A-okay." She smiled. It was a quick turn around from only a minute ago. The minutes ticked by slowly, and Trinity found herself once again drifting into that dream-like place where she saw things that she shouldn't be able to see.

It was blurry, different than usual, not as clear. Almost foggy in a way, as if a heavy, misty rain surrounded her. Then, a shape began to appear, a form walking towards her. A tall, slender woman, slowly coming into focus until she was the only thing that was clear, defined in this misty un-real scene. She had curly brown hair and sparkling amber eyes. Her eyes were vibrant, full of life, and yet tender. She wore casual brown pants and a creamy silken shirt, and she smiled at Trinity.

She bent down so she was face to face with Trinity.

"My baby girl," she smiled. "My little girl all growing up, saving people."

"Momma?"

The woman's smile grew even more brilliant. "Yeah, baby. It's Momma. Listen, now. I love you. I want you to know that. I've always loved you and I always will, never forget that. But baby, your Duo... your daddy needs you. You have to be there for him, and your Wufei."

Trinity frowned, her eyes narrowing. That wasn't right. This wasn't playing out right. What was happening? She was confused, but she knew that something was wrong. This wasn't what was supposed to happen, that wasn't what she was supposed to say.

"But... Momma..."

"Shh, baby," The woman placed a finger against Trinity's lips. "I know, love. I understand, but some things just weren't meant to be. You were meant for him, not me."

"NO," Trinity said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I want you *both*."

"I'm sorry, baby. That's not how it's supposed to be. I wish it were, but it just can't work out like that. I need to you understand that no matter what, I love you... my little Lysia Grace."

The woman held out a hand, a silver chain and cross.

"For luck. And faith, and hope, and love."

Trinity nodded even as the tears spilled over. Her small hand set over her mother's, the necklace between their palms.

"When will I see you, Momma?"

The woman smiled, the expression so sad.

"You won't, love. You won't."

"NO!!!" Trinity screamed, even as the hazy dream-world was ripped away.

TBC....

* * *

AN: Lovely, huh? Another sort of cliffhanger. Don't worry. I think every every chapter up until the last one is going to be a cliffhanger of some sort.

Trinity's finally coming out of her guilt induced trauma, but what about her little dream-thing? What does that mean? And exactly how far away are Duo and the rest? Will he arrive in time? Our two groups meet up at last in the next chapter, part two of 'Family.... Found'

Review and let me know what you think. Your comments, both good or bad and short or long, are appreciated and cherished.


	18. Family Found, Pt 2

AN: Sort of short... but it's the part you've all been waiting for. Duo to the rescue!

Last Time: Trinity had a weird vision of her mother, a vision bearing ominous fore-shadowing. Will Duo arrive in time? What about Renee's conclusion about Lysia Grace? Duo won't give Trinity up... but can Renee loose her daughter a second time?

~*~

Chapter Eighteen

Family... Found, Part Two

~*~

"Trinity, wake up."

Wufei shook the girl from her sleep as she cried out. Amber eyes opened wide, frightened.

"What was it, mei-mei? Nothing's going to hurt you... it was just a dream."

"No, no," she cried, burying her face in his neck. "I saw her. It wasn't a dream, Wufei, it wasn't." Her stomach started to churn, like it had almost so long ago when she'd felt that Quatre shouldn't leave. Something bad was going to happen. "Somethings not right," she whispered. "I think something horrible is going to happen."

"Don't worry, baby. Remember, your Daddy's on the way. Its going to work out."

Trinity looked up. "Somethings going to happen. Something bad."

Wufei held her close, but didn't say anything more. Because somewhere deep inside him, he knew, too. He didn't need empathy or her clairvoyance to know that there were a million different things that could go wrong... horribly wrong.

Where, oh where, was Duo?

~*~

*Several Minutes Later*

Duo motioned to Belle. She nodded, motioning Eric forward. The agent smirked as he went to work over-riding the door locks. It took a minute, but the door beeped and slid open. Guns drawn, Belle, Trowa, Anna, Quatre and Duo all rushed into the bridge.

"What the..." Belle blinked at the scene. Several men layed about, unconsious, with several others seeming very woozy. One man, with what seemed to be burns across his face, was clutching at his leg, which was bleeding profusely. Another lay against the wall, and Belle could quickly see the crimson stain across his shirt. She could tell he wasn't breathing.

"Allah," Quatre whispered. "What happened here?"

Some of the men looked at them, but dismissed them. It was a scene of pure confusion. The poor people didn't know what had hit them.

Anna sniffed the air. "It smells like chlorine," she said, wrinkling her nose. "I think someone used some kind of knock-out gas."

"Plausible," Belle noted. "Now... let's figure out where the rest of these criminals are and find out where the crew is..."

"There," Quatre motioned, to the door on the far wall, a faint noise could be heard through the supposedly soundproof wall. "Captain's cabin."

Belle nodded, keeping her voice low. "Trowa, Anna, Eric, Miss Relena... keep an eye on this lot. Quatre, Renee, Duo... you're all with me." She waved her hand towards the door, then motioned for silence. pushed the button to open the door... and to her surprise it slid open without question.

The four of them rushed forward,weopans drawn, prepared to meet any sight. Or so they thought.

~*~

"Never," Wufei growled, backing up even more. He had the ship's captain, weak though she was, beside him, and Trinity behind him, in the corner. He could feel the little girl's soft trembling. She hadn't been scared of these people since they'd arrived. But cornered, with no chance of escape and no plan, she felt the fear swirl through her.

"Just hand over the girl and we might let you live,"

"You'll take her over my dead body," was the terse reply.

"That *can* be arranged," one of the three mercenaries smirked. Wufei swallowed, knowing that he was outnumbered. They probably couldn't have taken him on one-on-one, or even all three together, on a normal day. But Wufei was distracted. He *had* to protect Trinity. That was his only goal right now.

"Just take me instead," Captain Reed said, stepping forward. "Just leave the poor girl alone." When the men had come in, demanding the girl, Wufei had leaped up, lightning fast, making a run for the door. They'd blocked his exit, and cornered him. He'd placed Trinity behind him, ready for a fight. Reed had joined him, making a rather pitiful addition to the shield he'd made.

"Shut up, you useless slut," The taller man, the brunette who had opened the door to Wufei at first, snarled at her. He lashed out, striking the side of her face, sending her sprawling onto the floor. The other members of her crew that were in the room just cowered away. They weren't fighters, and whatever will to fight they'd had in them had long since been beaten out of them.

"Now *move*," he told Wufei for the umpteenth time.

"No," was the simple reply.

"Fine. Then we'll make you move."

All three men dodged for Wufei at the same time. They were clumsy, but they were big, and they had a clear weight advantage over him. But he saw the opening, the door sliding open, and a familiar arm clad in Preventer's uniform sticking through.

"Trinity... run! The door!"

She did. She dashed headlong towards the open door, a cry of 'Daddy!' falling from her lips as her father and three other people entered the room. Duo almost dropped to his knees, wanting to wrap his arms around her.

But he saw it at the same time Wufei did. One of the men drawing a gun... a gun aimed towards the little girl and the other people entering the room.

"Trinity, get out of the way!" he cried, pushing her further towards the door. He shielded her body with his own, caught in the doorway as the gun was fired.

He clearly heard a single shot ringing throughout the cabin, then another moments later, followed by another. He breathed slowly as the ringing died down, as he waited for the adrenaline to wear down and let him feel where he'd been hit.

"Daddy?" Trinity whispered, her eyes wide in horror and shock, staring over his shoulders even as her little hands gripped at his arms. Duo wrapped his arms tight around her, lifting her up as he turned to see what was happening. Four people where on the ground. All three pirates were on the ground, at least two of them dead... and so was... Renee Halliwell.

Trinity struggled down from his arms.

"Momma.... no, no. Momma, not like this. No!" She cried, screaming as she fell to her knees beside the fallen woman. Duo didn't question how Trinity knew that this woman was probably her mother... he knew she was *his* daughter and that nothing would ever change that.

"Renee.." he asked, stepping forward towards them.

Quatre frowned, placing a finger against Renee's neck.

"She's gone," he said aloud, to no-one in particular. Trinity, tears in her eyes, noticed the all familiar necklace. Choking back another sob, she lifted it away, clutching it tight in her hands.

"Daddy... Wufei... can we go home now?"

Duo, tears in his own eyes, nodded. He had to turn away from the scene, step back into the other room. Trinity rose, and followed after him, Wufei by her side. Her eyes, misted, didn't see the now awake pirates, or the other rescuers. Duo was blinked back the tears, Wufei was confused over the sudden turn, Belle and Quatre were still in the other room. No-one saw the nameless mercenary set his eyes on the girl. The girl who had tricked them all, shot his brother. The girl who had killed his friend and leader.

No-one saw him reach for the hidden gun, no-one saw him lift it.

Two shots rang out at the exact same time, shattering the silence, startling everyone. Ana and Trowa could only stare as the half-dead pirate a few feet from them slumped over, eyes glazed, a bullet between his eyes.

But there had been two shots fired. Duo turned to look, unable to beleive his eyes as Wufei caught his daughter as she fell... unwilling to see the red spreading across her pristine dress.

No, he thought. Not like this. Not like this.

~*~

AN: Sorry for the cliffhanger. Okay... not really that sorry. Remember How To Save A Life? Yeah... I spent half the story making you fall in love with Kaori... and then I killed her. Hmm... it seems like I may have done that again. Oops.

Next Time: What happens to Trinity? Will this tear Duo and Wufei apart? Who shot Tomas Delecroix? The answers are coming up in the next chapter... Long Way Home.


	19. Long Way Home

Notes: Dedicated to Waterlillylf, for your concern and for all the turmoil I put you through with the cliffhanger... and because I wanna sequel to PL. LOL. ;-) Consider this my bribe.

~*~*~*~*~*

Last Time: _But there had been two shots fired. Duo turned to look, unable to beleive his eyes as Wufei caught his daughter as she fell... unwilling to see the red spreading across her pristine dress._

_No, he thought. Not like this. Not like this._

_~*~*~*~_

**_Chapter Nineteen_**

**_ Long Way Home_**

Wide brown eyes stared into shocked black ones.

"Wu...fei?" She asked, her voice broken. She looked down at the blossoming crimson stain on the chest of her otherwise clean dress, and her legs buckeled. Wufei was there, catching her before she could hit the floor. Scared, she looked up at him. "I... I It wasn't supposed to be like... this..."

"Trinity? Trinity, listen to me. Stay awake. Trinity, you have to stay awake!"

Duo was beside him in a heartbeat. "Baby.... my baby, Trin... look at me. Darlin, look at daddy."

"... love you," she whispered. And then, slowly, the blackness came over her. As Duo cried out for her, and Wufei stared on in horror, her eyes slid closed.

"NO!!!" Duo screamed as he clutched at his daughter. Wufei closed his eyes as a few tears escaped, unbidden.

Quatre pushed Duo away harshly. "Duo, shut up." He placed a hand against her neck, held a finger above her nose and mouth. "She's alive. But barely. We need to get her to a hospital now."

Heero, leaning heavily against the doorframe, gun still in hand, nodded. "I think it would be best for us all to leave."

"Quatre," Belle said. "Please take Heero and the little one aboard one of the shuttles. They need medical attention, and I'll bet you do as well. Take Duo and Wufei with you. Relena, go with them. Quatre may need help. Eric, Trowa, Ana, and I will keep things under control and contact Lady Une."

Quatre nodded absently. "Duo, get Trinity. We need to move as fast as we can."

Duo shook his head, wrapping arms under hid daughter. He tried to clear his mind, to think clearly, but reality and emotion threatened to strangle him. Quatre placed and arm on his shoulder, and Duo could feel a weak little tingle of calmness leak into him.

Quatre had never been good at sending feelings out, but that he'd try for Duo's sake meant alot to the braided man. It had him thinking a little more.

"Fast, right. We should take Cherish. I modified her engines. She'll be faster than the Preventer's shuttle."

"Then let's go," Quatre steered Duo towards the door. Relena went to support Heero to help him follow, and Wufei, still caught in a state of shock, brough up the rear.

Their precession was made quickly and in silence. Quatre tried to keep sending the soothing feelings into Duo, but it was hard with his own mental state not much better. Trinity was, for all intensive purposes, his niece. He'd helped her gain control over her ability, sheilded her when the emotions were too much for her weak shields. And, there was that still present tingling worry for Heero. Heero'd lost quite a lot of blood lately, and Quatre was certain that infection may be setting in. All in all, the former Wing pilot was in a bad way.

In any other situation, Quatre would undoubtably worry for his former comrade-in-arms, but lately... Quatre had discovered a previously unknown side of the once-friend. Despite paying attention to Duo, carrying Trinity, he kept tabs on Heero, behind him with Relena. Relena was paled and worried. The evident reason was Heero's almost ashen complexion, the way his hands were shaking. He was in a *very* bad way, and Quatre knew it wasn't all due to fatigue and injury.

In the heat of the moment, no one had really noticed, or cared, who had fired that second shot. Except Quatre. Because he was the only one who recalled Heero's vow in that moment. He was the only one to remember that Heero had sworn never kill again after the Marimaia Incident. Quatre resolved to speak with the former pilot as soon as they had a moment alone.

Wufei, still a bit dazed, went about taking off as soon as they got on the shuttle. Heero looked at Quatre and the girl.

"Cat..," he said, his voice quite soft. "You've gotta take the bullet out, and clean the wound. She'll never make it if you don't."

Quatre nodded. "Relena, go get a first aid kit, please."

Relena let Heero set down as she went to do as Quatre asked.

"Duo... Duo, please. You'll have to move." Quatre pulled on his friend as Duo set his daughter down on the single bed of the Cherish.

Wufei stayed away, piloting the shuttle. Quatre could tell he was probably in shock. He had no idea what the Chinese pilot and the little girl had went through to get to this point... but there was unmistakeably a bond there. Maybe almost as strong as the bond between Duo and his daughter.

"You know, she'd been trying to talk me into getting her a puppy for the past couple of months," Duo laughed quietly as Quatre bound up the wound. "I keep telling her later, one day, once everything gets settled down. I keep stalling, and I don't know why. People are always telling me that having a dog is a big responsibility and that six-year olds don't understand that." He laughed. "They've never meet Trinity," He brushed a curl of hair away from her face. "I've never gotten her a dog, I haven't taken her to any amusement parks. I haven't even taken her to Earth. She dosen't even go to school. What kind of father have I been?"

"An excellent one," Quatre replied, looking up, almost angry that Duo thought he hadn't been a good father. "She's happy, Duo. Could you imagine Trinity in school? She'd either be bored to tears, or kicked out. Two years ago... she couldn't even spell her own name. Now, she's studying calculus and physics. Two years ago... she could barely stand to live beneath her burden. Now, she's happy and smiling. All of that's because of you, Duo. Because of your love."

"Quat... she's dying," Duo said softly.

"I know, Duo. I know. But think back over the last two years. She was dying in that alley. Do you think she would have regreted her time with you? No, she wouldn't. So don't you."

~*~*~*~*~

Ana tapped her foot impatiently as she watched as Belle and Eric finished restraining the last of the still living pirates. Her fingers drummed out a quick tempo on her arm. Trowa's hand closed over them, stilling them.

"Don't," he ordered quietly.

"Don't what?" she snapped, but where only he could here. "Don't tap my fingers?"

"Don't worry so much," he clarified.

"It's my nature to worry, Trowa," she said quietly.

"And I love that about you," he added. "But you can't go on worrying over every little thing," he brushed his fingers over her hand in a soft caress. "That girl will be alright. They all will."

"That's not what I'm worried about," she said. "I'm worried about you. I'm afraid you might leave."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"You've said that before," she reminded under her breath. A small stab of guilt hit Trowa's heart. He had promised that before... and then he'd left. There was nothing safe or simple or normal about their relationship. But amidst the rape and the deceit and the gun-shots... there was love. He'd never acknowleged it, never noticed it. At least not until Ana had braved the lion's cage, and her own fear of the animals, to save him. That was when he'd realized she loved him. And after a lot of thinking, he realized he returned that feeling. He'd always dreamed about a peaceful, comfortable relationship. A soft, quiet love. The kind in those old fairy-tales and folk-songs. He'd never expected it could be so loud and harsh, so un-comfortable and un-easy. He'd never expected impatience, or screaming and arguing. He'd never expected *Ana*.

"I mean it now," he said. It was the only assurance he could give her. She could beleive him or not. That was up to her... it had always been up to her weather to beleive him or not.

"I made the mistake of beleiving you once," she told him softly. "I nearly paid for that with my life... as did you. But you already know that I can't say 'no' to you." She leaned against him. "For better or worse, I want all of you. The lies, the broken promises... all of you."

Trowa placed an arm around her as he watched Belle and Eric, and he thought about Ana's words. All of him... lies and all, and he remembered back... to seeing Ana on the floor, the sheets twisted around her, and her pale skin showing the bruises left by his hands, and her eyes sparkling with tears.

All of him?

He wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing or not.

~*~*~*~

Quatre found Heero sitting in the small, dark gally of the shuttle. Relena had tended his wound again, and then she'd gone to help Duo and Wufei.

"Heero?" Quatre's voice was quiet as he sank to his knees in front of the once stoic pilot, sitting on the bench seat. Aqua eyes met with Prussian. Those deep blue eyes looked much less calm than Quatre had ever seen them before. They seemed to reflect... shock, confusion, repulsion. All manner of emotion swirled in them, swirled straight into Quatre's heart.

"Heero, please. Talk to me," the empath begged, reaching up to cup the other man's cheek... something he'd never have dared do two weeks before.

"I... I swore I wouldn't..." the voice spoke, but broke. Heero couldn't force out the words. Quatre nodded.

"Yes, you did. You made a choice, Heero. You chose Trinity over some low-life whom the world is better off without."

"I said no more killing, Quatre," he said, looking straight at his friend. "I promised myself that no more. And I've kept that promise for *years*. I've killed so many people, Quat. I never wanted to add another to the list."

"But look at the lives you've saved," he pleaded. "Not just directly... me, Trinity, Relena, Duo. But indirectly, too. Look at all the lives saved. You've done good, Heero Yuy. Very, very good."

"It all comes back down to guilt," Heero said softly. "I can't let it go."

"Maybe we're not meant to," was the reply. Quatre had been down this road himself. "It's the guilt that helps us grow stronger, to keep from repeating our mistakes. But Heero, back there was not a mistake. The mistake would have been letting him kill an innocent little girl. The mistake would be beating yourself up over it."

Heero smiled softly, an odd expression on his face, as he looked into Quatre's eyes. "Do you always know exactly what to say?"

"No," Quatre smiled, shaking his head. "Not always... but most of the time," he smirked, leaning up to capture the brunettes lips in a soft kiss. He lifted his other hand to hold the face still as he rested his forehead against Heero's. "I want you to talk to me, Heero. Whenever anything's bothering you. I want you to trust me. I know I said it didn't mean anything... but when I kiss you I know it's something different. I know I have no right to ask anything of you... but please, please. I want you to talk to me."

"Trinity said you weren't meant for Michelle," Heero reminded him.

"I remember. I think I'm meant for you," he added softly, looking down with a slight blush.

Heero reached out, tilted that face back up.

"I think so too," he said before kissing Quatre again.

_To be continued......_

~*~*~*~

AN: Mwahahaha!!!! I'm so evil, aren't I? Please review... even if it's just to yell at me. I *had* considered not doing that, considered having all that red on her be food coloring (remember the kitchen scene?) but... I liked it this way better.

And the Heero/Quatre scene is for everyone who asked for more of these two.

Not my most favorite chapter, but the characters refused to play their parts. Though I did find the 4x1 scene sweet.


	20. Wish I May

AN: Remember... Wufei said he would leave them in order to protect them... ummm.... yeah. And this is the last chapter with the exception of the epilogue!

And it's LONG!!! Like twice the usual length almost (just about 3,000 words! yay!). I did have it broken up into two chapters... but I like it this way better.

LAST TIME: Trinity was shot, and now, with Quatre and Heero (mostly) safe and sound, they began a speedy rush back to civilization...

~_~_~_~_~_~

_**Chapter Twenty **_

_**Wish I May...**_

_Two Months Later_

Wufei tossed and turned, alone in his bed. Time hadn't dulled that deep ache within him. The ache of loss... of failure. He missed those few days back on L2. Where it hadn't been anything but him, Duo, and Trinity. Those few days were simple, carefree, as close to happy and normal as Wufei had ever felt. But... all that had changed.

He could clearly remember what had happened later. That day was the first time Wufei had ever seen Duo cry. He'd seen so many faces, masks on the braided pilot. And he'd seen some unguarded emotions, too. But that had been the first time Wufei had ever seen that amount of pain, heartache on that beautiful face. And then, he'd made it worse by leaving.

"Wufei! 'Fei, wait!" Duo had chased him out of the hospital, calling his name, almost *begging* him to stop. Caught between two desperate wants, Wufei had paused, just outside the hospital doors, the sunlight falling in beaming rays around him.

"It's better this way," he said softly to Duo, stopping behind him.

"Better for who? For you?"

"No, for you, damnit, Duo. Can't you see, it's my fault. My fault your so sad right now, in so much pain. I can't stand that it's my fault."

"Damn right it's all your fault. You can't just leave like this. I won't let you."

"Duo," Wufei said without turning around. "You can't stop me. Just.... let me go."

And he walked away. And Duo hadn't stopped him... hadn't tried to stop him.

And that fact hurt almost as much as walking away did. All his barbs, all his reasonings... and he still wanted Duo. Wanted him like he hadn't wanted anything else. And more than just wanting Duo... he wanted to have a family with Duo. He didn't think he'd ever be the same again.

Wufei groaned and sat up. The times he did manage to sleep were haunted by dreams and memories... of Duo, of Trinity.

He didn't bother turning on the light as he went to his laptop. There was a letter from Une asking him to go to the L4 Convention, a meeting of politicians from Earth and the colonies, in two weeks time. He sighed, then accepted and wrote a reply.

He filled and filled and filled his hours with mission after mission, trying to dull the ache. Trying to keep himself from dwelling on what was and what could have been.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Artificial sunlight was bright and sparkling as Quatre walked through the short grass. His friend was in front of him, eyes dark, skin bruised under the eyes from sleepless nights. He sat crosslegged in front of the stone. The grave had a single person's name on it, a name burned into Duo's memory. A name he couldn't forget, the name of someone who had given him more than she would know.

"I didn't think you'd be out and about so soon," Quatre commented, looking on as Duo touched the stone softly. Some people would think that sitting on someone's grave was disrespect for the dead. Not Duo. For Duo, just being here showed how much he respected.

"I didn't either," the brunette admitted. "But it's something we had to do. Ghosts that needed laid to rest, thanks that needed to be given. It was past time we did this. Renee Halliwell gave me so much... I don't think there are words to explain how much she gave me."

"Yeah, there are words," Quatre said softly, looking at the thin little girl who slept contentedly, her head on her father's lap. "Just one... Trinity."

"I hate all of this, and yet a part of me is happy. I know it's so selfish, but what if Renee had tried to take her away," he stroked a hand through soft pale brown curls. "And yet... Renee gave me my world. My life. I only knew her for little more than a day, and I hated her for part of that. And yet I still can't accept the fact that she's gone."

"She's been dead for a while; I don't think her death is really why you're so sad, Duo," Quatre replied softly, a hand on his friend's shoulder

"It's been a month," was the reply. Neither said, but they both knew that the subject had changed.

"You can't give up hope. And you really should go talk to him. He'll be here on L4 for the Delegate Convention. You shouldn't give up hope for him, either."

Duo nodded, turning to look up at his long-time friend. The friend who'd been there through the best and the worst. The friend he'd risked his life for. The friend his daughter had risked her life for. In many ways, Quatre was his brother. Nay, closer than a brother.

"I miss him, Quat. I thought maybe it'd be like before, y'know? Just go our separate ways. But I can't. Something happened and I can't undo it. I want him, but he just can't see that." Apathy, Duo thought. That was the only fitting word. Indifference. He stroked a hand along Trinity's arm. Trinity was his life... so... why did it hurt so much to loose Wufei... again.

"Maybe he can see it," Quatre said, eyes sparkling. "But maybe he just dosen't want to."

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

* * *

Weeks later, Duo tried to smile as he watched his sweet, precocious daughter talking with one of the dignitaries from L3. She was talking him into allowing one of the resourse satellites under his control to be used to help rebuilds other colonies that had suffered damage years ago in the wars. And she was doing a damn fine job of it, too. But Duo knew she would. He hadn't wanted her stressing herself too much, but he trusted his daughter to know her limits. She would know when she was tired... and she would tell him.

"Have you seen him?" Quatre asked, stepping beside him.

"No," Duo replied quietly. "I almost not sure I want to."

"Heero just told me. Wufei just went into the empty conference room, five doors down from this one, setting up security surveilance. If you want to speak with him... now would be the most opportune moment."

Duo looked at Trinity, and Quatre caught his gaze.

"She's fine. I'll watch over her. Heero will be here momentarily, as well. Go to him," his friend urged.

With a heavy sigh, Duo resigned himself. If he didn't do this now... he would regret it for the rest of his life. He nodded once, then slipped quietly out of the conference room, knowing his daughter was in good hands.

The rooms was dimly light when Duo opened the door, most of the light coming from a laptop set upon the conference table. Wufei stood with his back to the door, typing in commands, and Duo saw different vantage points from all around the conference building.

"Heero, I thought you were going to check on the...."

"Hello, Wufei," Duo interrupted. Wufei spun around, eyes going wide when he saw Duo standing in the doorway. It was clear it hadn't expected to see the single father on L4. Duo tilted his head, studying the person who might once have become his lover.

"Why did you leave?"

Closing his eyes, Wufei turned away, but didn't leave the room. He couldn't walk away, but he couldn't face Duo either. He heard the door close, but he knew Duo was still in the room. He could feel the heartbeat, hear the soft breathing.

"I'ts best for everyone if I stay away."

"For everyone? Or for you? Wufei," Duo's voice was soft. Softer, quieter than Wufei had ever heard it. It had a distincly painful quality to it. He remembered those same words from a month ago, when he'd first left from the hospital. "You don't have to protect everyone. You can't protect everyone all the time. Not me... and not Trinity. I know it was only a few days... but to me, those days meant something. After the war, there was a *hole* inside me. There always had been, something that never could fill up. Even after I found Trinity, after she gave my life meaning, there was still this gaping space inside of me that just wouldn't go away. But, Wufei, for those few days, when it was just you and me and Trinity.... I didn't feel that emptiness. It was gone. That *means* something Wufei. I know it does."

Wufei swallowed against the current of emotion in him. He'd felt that too. A sense of peace, of *rightness* when he'd been on L2 with the father-daughter pair. But they had done fine without him. All he'd done was hurt those he love.

He could admit it to himself now. He loved Trinity. And he was *in* love with Duo. He'd discovered that a week or so ago, when he realized just how much he missed them. He didn't know when or how or why.... but he was irrevocably in love with the man standing with him.

"You're better off without me. Can't you see I just end up hurting you? Her? *Everyone*? I couldn't keep her from charging off on that damn rescue mission. She was the one who knocked the guard out... saving *me*. She saved my life countless time, and I couldn't even do it once. Can't you see how horrible it was? To stand there, to see her standing, then see her fall? To see the blood, to hold her while her breathing becomes more and more faint, as her life slips away little by little? I've gone through that *twice* I can't, won't do it again. I won't hurt anyone else."

"Trinity is not Meilan," Duo said, his voice rising, harsh and angry. "And neither am I. Wufei, I think that I love you, but I'm not going to play second fiddle to a ghost just because you think you have to protect everyone. I came here thinking I could talk you around, but I guess I can't," he sighed. "I guess you're the one who runs and hides."

With that, Wufei felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. He knew with certainty that if Duo walked away now, he would never be back. That was what Wufei wanted, that's what he was trying to do. So why did it hurt *him* so much to imagine a life without Duo? He sank to his knees and for thef first time in a very, very long time, he let the tears inside spill out.

Duo blinked at the sight in front of him, caught off guard by the sight of Wufei in tears.

"Nobody hurts my baby girl and gets away with it," he stated, trying to control the crack in his voice.

Wufei swallowed, not bothering to brush the tears away. "Trust me, Duo. My conscious hasn't let me get away with it. I promised to protect her... and I ended up getting her hurt."

Duo blinked, taking a step forward. "You still don't get it, do you? I don't hold that against you. No-one does. That *wasn't* your fault. That was a horrible, horrible accident that no-one saw coming. The only way you ever hurt Trinity.... was when she woke up and you weren't there."

"It was my fault," he whispered. "Everything that happened was my fault."

"When she came out of ICU, when she first woke up... the first two words out of her mouth were 'Hi, Daddy,'" Duo said, ignoring the whispered confession, tears in his eyes, his voice betraying the emotional turmoil inside him. "The second two were 'Where's Wufei?' Do you realize what kind of position you put me in,there? She loves you, too. She said you promised to be there for her... and you're not. That's hurt her. What's it going to take to convince you that the only way you could ever hurt us is if you're not with us. I know it's a bit much to ask, leaping head-first into a relationship with a guy whose already got a kid... but we're asking it anyway. We want you Wufei."

"She... she's better off without me," Wufei breathed sadly, finally looking up and drinking in the sight of Duo standing there. "I might... I might hurt her again."

"Yeah," Duo said, voice suddenly soft. "Of course. So might I. You can't have love without some form of risk. I love you, Wufei. And she loves you, too. And she wants you to be a part of this family. You know that I've never denied her anything. I've spoiled her as much as humanly possible... but this is something I can't give her. This is something that only *you* can give."

"Daddy? Wufei?" The door behind them opened, Trinity standing there in a ruffled yellow dress, a matching bow in her hair and a silver chain, complete with silver cross, hanging around her neck, a compliment to the one he knew Duo hid under his shirt. She was just a little taller than the last time Wufei had seen her, three whole months ago, her hair a bit longer now, but she was maybe a bit thinner along with it. Her eyes were lighter, and her skin paler. But not any worse for the trauma she'd been through. He could see in her a reflection of what she might be one day. Tall, lithe, strong, beautiful.

"Trinity..." Wufei said. He'd worried about her for so long, though he wanted to deny it, but here she stood in front of him, whole and healthy. Duo looked just as surprised to see his daughter. But then, the moment passed, and Trinity threw herself head-long into the room, running to Wufei and wrapping her arms around him. For just a moment, Wufei saw the sheen of tears falling down her face.

Wufei buried his face in her hair, wrapping his arms around her tightly. He tried to quell his own tears as he comforted her.

"Oh, mei-mei," he whispered. "Don't cry."

"You lied," she accused, her voice breaking. "You lied. You promised me, you promised me that you'd at least *try*. And then you weren't there. You lied."

"I hurt you, mei-mei," he admitted. "It was all my fault. I promised you I'd protect you, and I couldn't do that. I can't do that. I tried, and I can't seem to protect you. All I do is hurt the ones I love."

"It hurts because you're not here," she said. Wufei's eyes glanced up when Duo crouch down in front of them.

"She's right," Duo said. "She feels not only her pain, but mine. And even yours. She effects Quatre, and Quatre not happy is not a good thing. Quatre's making Heero nervous, and Heero makes *everyone* nervous. Wufei, by staying away, you hurt not just us. When you deal with an empath like Trinity... the effects are felt far and wide.

"You hurt us more by staying away than you would by being with us. We don't need you to protect us. And you can't always protect her, or me, or anyone. You can't promise that. But you can promise to *try*. To do your best. That's the only promise we want. To give us a try. To try to make this work." Obsidian eyes met with Cobalt.

"I promise," Wufei said softly. He couldn't change who he was, who he'd become. Heaven knows he would if he could, just for them. But he couldn't. And they weren't asking him to. They weren't asking him to protect them, and they weren't asking him *not* to protect them.

All they were asking for... was him. And that, that he could and would give.

"I can't promise to not try to protect you. I can't change who I've become. That's my nature to want to protect those I love... even if I end up hurting them, sometimes. Slowly... that's what I need, want right now. Slowly. But I do want this. I want you. I want to *try*."

Duo smiled, and reached out a hand. Wufei calmly, hesitantly slipped his hand in it, still holding onto Trinity. Amber eyes blinked open, the tears slowly fading away as the three of them just stayed there. Trinity saw her father's hand, gripping tightly onto Wufei's.

Her daddy wasn't lost anymore. And neither was Wufei. And neither was she.

They'd all been found.

They'd found each other.

As that thought struck her, so did another. Meeting her Daddy's eyes, she smiled.

"Daddy... Can I have a puppy?"

~_~_~_~_~~_~

* * *

AN: Don't go yet! We've still got one more chapter, the epilogue. The epilogue's title is 'Ten Years Later...' I'm sure you'll love it. Please let me know how this was. I love feedback, both good and bad!

And how'd you like the ending? IT WAS HAPPY!!! TRINITY'S ALIVE!! YIPPEEE!!!

And ack... she's such a kid, huh? Exploiting the situation. LOL.


	21. Epilogue, Ten Years Later

_**Chapter Epilogue**_

_**Ten Years Later...**_

_(Trinity's POV)_

I twitch. I fidget with the sleeve hem of this ridiculous uniform. Oh, I'm not being conceited when I say that I look better in it than most. The brown and beige of the Preventer's dress uniform compliments my fair skin, light amber eyes, and soft, pale honey hair whereas it just washed most people out. And I really am proud to wear it.

It's just that it's really scratchy and damned hot. Very uncomfortable. Just like being on this stage in front of an entire room full of Preventers. Co-workers and family in the same place always made me twitchy. Putting me on a stage in front of them... that was just cruel and inhumane punishment.

A very small part of me wished that I'd never taken that stupid mission in the first place. A very, very small part of me. But Preventers is in my blood, so to speak. One of my fathers used to be the best agent ever. My uncle was one. Even my mother- my blood mother- had been an agent. I suppose it was inevitable that I join eventually... even if I hate this uniform and hate these stupid social events. I let my eyes wander the crowd even as I search mentally for them. Ah, there.

That's why I'm here. For them.

For that barely concealed smugness from Daddy, written across his face. He looks so proud and smart, sitting there in his all black outfit. He was fairly bursting with the pride that emanated from him. I can easily picture him grinning at someone and saying 'That's my baby girl'.

Sitting next to Daddy, Papa glows. He hides it alot better than Daddy, but he's just as proud. It shows in his onyx eyes, and he's letting the emotions roll off instead of blocking them like he usually tries to. And knowing my parents as well as I do, I can easily picture Papa yanking Daddy's braid and correcting him with '*Our* baby girl'.

That image makes me smile. I guess I should be smiling anyway... but I really hate this stupid uniform. As Commander Une drones on in the background, I let my eyes stray away from my parents. Past Uncle Quat, with that knowing smile on his face, as if he'd seen that image flit through my mind. Oh, wait. He probably did; I'm probably broadcasting like a beacon right now. Beside him, Uncle Ro sits, their fingers lightly interlaced. Heero's really good for Uncle Quatre. He's easy to be around, his mind is so nice and orderly and his emotions always perfectly controlled. That's a bonus when you spend alot of time in the company of two fairly strong empaths.

I guess that's why Thayet, setting beside them, is so calm. She's my absolute best friend, Quatre's niece is. When Quatre's sister Yasmine died, Quatre became her guardian. About four years older than me, Thayet Winner is my closest friend in the world. My first friend close to my own age- and one of my very, very few.

Aunt Sally and Aunt Hilde are at the same table, with Aunt Sally's boyfriend and Aunt Hilde's husband. Hilde says she's not... but we all know why she kept throwing up this morning. I think I may have another cousin on the way. Kalyne, Hilde's ten year old daughter, sits pretty in a pink dress. Kay's a sweet girl, and I like her alot. Merryn, Kay's six year old sister, is somewhere around here... one never knows just where that girl is, or what she's up to.

Aunt Belle sits with Eric at the table beside Uncle Quatre. Her son is with one of his cousins on some play date right now, but Belle's still here to support me.

At the next table over, Trowa sits with Miss Ariana. She's fairly rounded now, but it means alot that she risked the shuttle ride to Sanq for this ceremony. Shuttles aren't the best things when you're six months pregnant. And she should know- she'd been pregnant twice before this. I breifly wonder who she got to babysit Triton and Katie. Those two were terrors- even if Triton was seven years younger than me. Cathy and Trey were probably tagged with baby-sitting duty. They often were.

Trowa's not as much my family as Uncle Ro and Uncle Quat. He's a bit more distant than anyone I know, but Triton, Katie, and Miss Ariana have no problems with him. When I was little, I'd hoped that maybe he could be my family. I didn't have any biological family left, so I 'adopted' as many people as I could. Daddy, Papa, Heero, Quatre, Sally Po- Thayet and I call each other 'sister'. Trowa's close to us, but I still hesitate to call him 'family'. Maybe one day. I hold onto hope.

My eyes drift even further, and there. At that front table. His green eyes meet mine, and it's all I can do not to blush. Sexual tension is something that at the age of seventeen, I still haven't quite grasped. When you can feel every facet of someone's feelings and personality- and occasionally their past and future, too- with just a look, you rather become immune to most of the things I guess ordinary girls take for granted. And living with two men certainly hasn't help that much. But that changed two weeks ago.

He is Brandon Carter, Eric's third cousin and the son of a well-known family and an astonishing mathematician and scientist. Verdant green eyes the color of aventurine, black hair a few shades lighter than Papa's. A small but well-built frame. And the mind behind those eyes? Glorious. Brandon's another 'new-type'. Like me, like Uncle Quat. His ability lies in telling truth from lie. A rather useful talent. Except when you're faced with people like me and Daddy. And people like the one's who decided to kidnap the brilliant young scientist.

People who can twist the truth around so that it's not a lie, but it's still not the truth.

And he's the reason I'm here. My last mission. My most dangerous one. The one that almost killed me. I'm here... and alive... because of him. He's here... and alive... because of me. I think that's a kind of bond that transcends your usual crush.

With his eyes on mine, I finally gain enough sense to tune back into Commander Une's speech.

"... And so, for extreme bravery under harsh conditions..." Harsh? I think. What do they know about the abandoned colony hub they'd stashed Brandon at? Crawling around in collapsing air ducts isn't exactly harsh for me... but then again.... I'm not exactly normal. "... and for ingenuity and resourcefulness in the face of insurmountable odds and great stress..." I resist the urge to snort at that. She wasn't there. She had no idea exactly what went on there. The worse stress I'd been under was Brandon and his talkative nature. Well... that that the gaping wound in my side that simply *wouldn't* stop bleeding. "On behalf of the Earth Sphere United Nation, I present this award to Preventer's Level One Agent Trinity Maxwell-Chang."

I take my que, and bow, eye contact with Brandon breaking. I bend my head as she slips the golden medal around my neck, letting the ribbon rest against the base of my braid. And yes, when in uniform or on a mission, I pull my hair back into a single braid that reaches my waist. Like Father like Daughter, as the saying goes. And plus... with so much curl to my hair, it's impossible to do much else with.

I bow to the crowd as the entire room erupts into cheers and applause. Looking back out, my eyes meet with indigo. Daddy's smiling brightly at me, and I smile back.

Yeah. Life looks pretty good.

~_~_~_~_~_~

(_normal POV)_

As the crowd dispersed a little and people began mingling, Duo and Wufei watched as their daughter nearly ran from the stage. Brandon Carter- the young man she'd saved on this mission- ran up to greet her. He gripped her waist and twirled her up and around in the air, the same way Duo had done when she was still little. She was grinning when he sat her down, but her arms never left his shoulders, and his hands never left her waist. She was talking, and she blushed just a bit when he leaned down to kiss her cheek.

Duo frowned a little.

"They look quite happy together," he said, non-commentaly.

"Hmm. He's from a quite wealthy family... a nice family, Agent Wraith's cousin from what I hear." Wufei added.

"A fairly talented new-type. Strong minded. Intelligent, strong. Brave. He has a good heart," Duo replied. "He's a good man."

"Yes. Quite a good man."

Duo and Wufei looked at each other, then back at Brandon Carter with his arms around their daughter.

"But she's still our baby girl," Duo said decisively.

"Agreed." Wufei dragged his eyes from the scene back to Duo. There was a decidedly feral gleam in his onyx eyes. He tilted his head, indicating the two young people.

"So.... should you get the shotgun or should I?"

OWARI^_^

~_~_~_~_~_~_~

AN: That's the end of Apathy. So tell me... what did you think of my first shot at a 2x5? What did you think of Trinity?

Oh, and just a footnote for the ending. This is kind of an inside joke, sort of. In many parts of the world- especially the south USA, where I'm from- it's kind of standard for father's to intimidate their daughter's courtiers. In most cases... they use barely concealed threats and often sport a shotgun (at least 'round here). Many country songs mention this, and if you watch the movie 'Twilight', you'll see sort of what I'm talking about. Also, Bill Engval has made a few jokes about this, as in the one where he tells his daughter's boyfriend... "If you think of mistreating her... remember...I have no problem with going *back* to prison." It's cliche' and overused and over dramatized, but it is true in it's basis.

I have several more instalments in this series, including two Trinity centric fics, and a lemon for Duo/Wufei... as well as the already planned Sympathy and Empathy. So please, keep watching. There's much more coming in this trilogy gone out of control.


End file.
